UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Increased by James Hambro & Partners LLP

James Hambro & Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,858 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 3,434 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 4.6% of James Hambro & Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. James Hambro & Partners LLP's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $116,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $458,929,000 after buying an additional 776,516 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,380,661,000 after acquiring an additional 587,088 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $601,951,000 after purchasing an additional 581,324 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $542.52. 3,161,466 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,791,202. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $540.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $565.06. The company has a market capitalization of $499.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

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.