Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 705 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,150,045,000 after purchasing an additional 250,291 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after acquiring an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after acquiring an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $5,802,231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $509.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $498.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $502.27. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 1.41 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 (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a 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. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

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.