UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Perpetual Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 435,121 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,978 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 2.1% of Perpetual Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $215,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 1,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,752 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $484.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $496.12 and a 200-day moving average of $504.71. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

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.