UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Raised by Hendershot Investments Inc.

Hendershot Investments Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,630 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 2.9% of Hendershot Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $21,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $37,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. 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 research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $526.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $529.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.30. The firm has a market cap of $484.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.