UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Lifted by First Bank & Trust

First Bank & Trust increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,208 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,802,231,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,352 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 815,822 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $434,501,000 after acquiring an additional 802,160 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.7 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $509.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $498.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $501.96. The firm has a market cap of $468.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

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.