Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 250,291 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.0% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of UnitedHealth Group worth $44,150,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $489.16 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $494.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $505.48. The stock has a market cap of $450.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

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.