OneAscent Financial Services LLC Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,288 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paralel Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 4,047 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 46,042 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $23,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.9% during the third quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 34,753 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,522,000 after purchasing an additional 12,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 108,412 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $54,660,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $22.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $509.26. 22,734,197 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,685,941. The firm has a market cap of $468.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 1.41 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $498.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $502.27. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several research reports. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 target price for the company. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

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.