UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Boosted by IMS Capital Management

IMS Capital Management boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,626 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the quarter. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $485.52 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $578.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $560.35. The stock has a market cap of $446.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

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.