Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Has $17.78 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.7% of Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 84,278 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $489.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $450.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $497.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.21. 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 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

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.