Trust Co. of Vermont Purchases 3,268 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,993 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,268 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.0% of Trust Co. of Vermont’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $19,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $510.03. The company had a trading volume of 7,462,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,104,531. The company has a market capitalization of $469.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $551.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

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.