Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Grows Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,099 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.6% of Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,975,000 after buying an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $476.22 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $438.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $514.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $554.81.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.