UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Lessened by Golden Road Advisors LLC

Golden Road Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 536 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. Golden Road Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,802,231,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,515,000 after buying an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after buying an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after purchasing an additional 815,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $434,501,000 after purchasing an additional 802,160 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $494.43 on Tuesday. 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 $498.34 and a 200-day moving average of $501.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Baird R W raised UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group 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.