Northwest Bank & Trust Co Buys New Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,204 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $634,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $497.12. 3,188,374 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,452,273. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $493.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $506.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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.