J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,001 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 7,430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $2,314,000. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,088 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,609,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Copperleaf Capital LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC now owns 2,114 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,140 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $523.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $523.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $563.18. The company has a market capitalization of $481.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target 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 given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.