Donaldson Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 103,909 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,390 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 2.5% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $54,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $6.43 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $445.63. 5,369,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,304,947. The stock has a market cap of $410.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $492.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $516.34.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $596.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $573.80.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.