Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Has $22.21 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,901 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.7% of Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Paragon Capital Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $476.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $438.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $514.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $554.81. 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

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.