American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,743,044 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 128,253 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.6% of American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.19% of UnitedHealth Group worth $912,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.
UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.0%
Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $271.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $288.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.47. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $246.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.43.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 38.30%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.
Read Our Latest Research Report on UnitedHealth Group
Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group
In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.
UnitedHealth Group Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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