Fairscale Capital LLC Makes New $1.43 Million Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,604 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,429,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.2% of Fairscale Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after buying an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position 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 buying an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after acquiring an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after purchasing an additional 35,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $575.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $529.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $577.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $520.80. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.