UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Lifted by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,321 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 3,975 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $87,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Argus boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $614.17.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $5.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $594.32. 2,242,003 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,405,546. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $548.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $569.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $517.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.