Ingalls & Snyder LLC Raises Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,670 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 88.0% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 258,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $151,374,000 after purchasing an additional 121,180 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 212,295 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $123,025,000 after purchasing an additional 21,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 18.1% during the third quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 667 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $527.31 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $526.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $563.96. The firm has a market cap of $485.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.