Perkins Coie Trust Co Acquires 53 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,270 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.4% of Perkins Coie Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Perkins Coie Trust Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth 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. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth 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 position in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 84,278 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $44,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $489.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $497.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $503.21. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 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.