Raymond James & Associates Grows Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,774,308 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,518 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.6% of Raymond James & Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.19% of UnitedHealth Group worth $903,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,468 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,352,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $158,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $153,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 181.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 4,467 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded down $1.93 on Friday, reaching $577.68. 2,728,939 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,224,914. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $529.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $507.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $591.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $533.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.