Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 45.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,631 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 45.1% during the first quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 74 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $488.01. 3,230,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,269,000. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $498.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $500.96.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued 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 was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

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.