Grassi Investment Management Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Grassi Investment Management lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 885 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Grassi Investment Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 4,992 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,647,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Westhampton Capital LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Westhampton Capital LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,114,000. Sendero Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the first quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,210 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 335.1% in the first quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 62,712 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,637,000 after purchasing an additional 48,300 shares in the last quarter. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $592.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $564.00 to $555.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, September 14th. Finally, SVB Securities reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $575.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.19, for a total transaction of $2,024,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,772,866.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $486.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $450.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $492.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $486.73. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $445.68 and a fifty-two week high of $558.10.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.92 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $92.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.97 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 26.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.57 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.65%.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.