IMS Capital Management Has $1.85 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

IMS Capital Management boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,732 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,802,231,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $17.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $589.83. 5,094,041 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,453,607. The stock has a market capitalization of $542.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.59. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $591.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $514.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $503.15.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group 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.