Generate Investment Management Ltd Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Generate Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 54.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,628 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,710 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 2.4% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $34,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.9 %

UNH stock opened at $529.71 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $530.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $487.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share 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 on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.