Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 861,854 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of Franklin Resources Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.97% of UnitedHealth Group worth $4,514,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $522.97. 2,962,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,272,979. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $478.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $509.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $543.47.

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UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% 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.