UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Boosted by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,512 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.3% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,914,740,000. Amundi grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,183,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991,470 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $955,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,186 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake 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 valued at $601,951,000 after buying an additional 581,324 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of UNH opened at $513.58 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $509.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $545.56. The stock has a market cap of $469.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. 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.