Ellenbecker Investment Group Boosts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ellenbecker Investment Group increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,160 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.4% of Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $44,150,045,000 after purchasing an additional 250,291 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 buying an additional 527,526 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 324,733 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after acquiring an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,802,231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $484.62 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $496.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $504.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is a positive change 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 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.