Brown Advisory Inc. Acquires 13,157 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 707,545 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 13,157 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $357,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.2 %

UNH stock traded up $4.89 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $404.81. The stock had a trading volume of 8,146,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,625,259. 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 twelve month low of $393.11 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $368.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $494.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $527.03.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given 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 dividend yield of 2.08%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus 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.