UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,848 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 37 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.2% of Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after purchasing an additional 776,516 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,661,000 after buying an additional 587,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:UNH traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $511.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,182,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,404,681. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $559.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $561.31. The stock has a market cap of $471.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three investment 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.com, the stock currently has an average 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.