Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $23.93 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,285 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $23,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 9,350 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,730,000 after buying an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 818 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 3,848 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,947,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $9.60 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's 50-day moving average is $494.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $527.03. The stock has a market cap of $359.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $393.11 and a one year high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $596.86.

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.