ZEGA Investments LLC Takes Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

ZEGA Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,061 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,358,000. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.3% of ZEGA Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $517.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $510.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $547.47.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.