Atwood & Palmer Inc. Grows Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 825 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 84,278 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $483.16 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $444.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $497.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $504.26.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Three equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.