UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Holdings Raised by Michael S. Ryan Inc.

Michael S. Ryan Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 827 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 10,268 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,194,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 13,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 84,702 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,819 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,473,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innova Wealth Partners acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $455,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $9.89 on Wednesday, hitting $524.14. 4,057,113 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,934,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $557.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $561.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $627.58.

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.