UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Holdings Lifted by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.7% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.06% of UnitedHealth Group worth $277,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $7.58 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $318.14. The stock had a trading volume of 15,897,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,150,543. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $395.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $478.20. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $288.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.