KPP Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,460 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 94,641 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $7,961,369,000 after purchasing an additional 324,733 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in 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 buying an additional 35,533 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.5 %

UNH stock opened at $584.68 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $579.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $525.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $539.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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