UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 300.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.0% of Ally Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Ally Financial Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 645 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $739,000. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 2,058 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 68,173 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $34,486,000 after purchasing an additional 16,682 shares during the period. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,758,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 22.0 %

NYSE:UNH traded down $128.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $456.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,048,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,373,443. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $438.50 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $512.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $540.65. The stock has a market cap of $417.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid 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 1.84%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Erste Group Bank upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $632.85.

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.