Highland Capital Management LLC Has $4.94 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,761 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after purchasing an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after acquiring an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $538.29 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $539.43 and a 200-day moving average of $565.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $495.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.