UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Lessened by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 684 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,802,231,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,627,311,000 after buying an additional 815,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $434,501,000 after buying an additional 802,160 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.7 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $509.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $468.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $498.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $501.96. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group 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.