Range Financial Group LLC Buys 55 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 613 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $489.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $450.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $497.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $503.21.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

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.