Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $2.37 Billion Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,679,266 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 100,753 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.6% of Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.51% of UnitedHealth Group worth $2,367,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Alteri Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $590,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 77,467 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $39,188,000 after acquiring an additional 15,175 shares during the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,467,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $529,000. Finally, Ardsley Advisory Partners LP acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,117,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $540.00 price objective (down from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $9.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $395.21. The stock had a trading volume of 7,831,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,648,574. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $359.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $494.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $527.03. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $393.11 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.