UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Lifted by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 330,128 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,938 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.5% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $168,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after buying an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after buying an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after acquiring an additional 542,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,802,231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $1.39 on Friday, hitting $596.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,926,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,070,939. The firm has a market capitalization of $551.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $558.98 and its 200-day moving average is $515.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $607.94.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.