iA Global Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,814 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 16,366 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.7% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $94,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,012,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,148,134,000 after purchasing an additional 182,361 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:UNH traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $516.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,840,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,087,243. The stock has a market capitalization of $472.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $509.71 and a 200-day moving average of $546.15. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.