UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by CRA Financial Services LLC

CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,123 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,802,231,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after acquiring an additional 815,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $434,501,000 after acquiring an additional 802,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $22.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $509.26. 22,734,197 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,685,941. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $498.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $501.96. The firm has a market cap of $468.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.