LRT Capital Management LLC Buys 1,564 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

LRT Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 84.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,427 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the quarter. LRT Capital Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $955,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,186 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $3.03 on Wednesday, hitting $308.35. 37,577,107 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,117,656. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $482.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $519.28. The company has a market cap of $279.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $283.19 and a 1-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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $523.52.

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.