UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Lifted by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 865,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 84,167 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 2.0% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of UnitedHealth Group worth $440,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after purchasing an additional 544,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after acquiring an additional 94,641 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 324,733 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after acquiring an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 2nd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE UNH opened at $575.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $577.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $520.80. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The firm has a market cap of $529.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

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.