Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,997,274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 490,726 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.1% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $623,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% during the 2nd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 123 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price objective (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $309.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $346.20 and its 200 day moving average is $317.57. The company has a market capitalization of $280.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $622.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.14%.

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.