RiverFront Investment Group LLC Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,048 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, 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.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $583.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $538.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $580.50 and a 200 day moving average of $525.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

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.