Chatham Capital Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,262 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Jmac Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Paragon Capital Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $487.76 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market cap of $448.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $514.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $554.35.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.