IMS Capital Management Raises Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

IMS Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,732 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 75,602 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,537 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $17.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $589.83. 5,094,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,453,607. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $591.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $514.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $503.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $542.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.59.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.