Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Boosts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 528,638 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,812 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.6% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $267,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after buying an additional 776,516 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on UNH. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE UNH opened at $524.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $547.07 and its 200-day moving average is $563.84. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. 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.