Malaga Cove Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 48.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 914 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 17.8%

NYSE:UNH opened at $311.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $282.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $309.10 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $482.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $519.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

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.