Hilltop Holdings Inc. Acquires 39 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,556 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $8.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $508.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,528,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,805,318. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $489.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $510.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $467.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.55. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

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.