Rockland Trust Co. Buys 6,003 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,640 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 6,003 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 2.0% of Rockland Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $37,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of UNH opened at $482.59 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $444.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $497.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.94.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. 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 currently 51.34%.

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.