Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Buys 8,289 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,289 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.5% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $36,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,025,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd 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 stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $465.58 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $519.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $560.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. HSBC raised shares of 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, Barclays cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group 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.