Choate Investment Advisors Has $13.18 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 15.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,644 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,592 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,752 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Veery Capital LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 812 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $3.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $515.37. 4,979,790 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,242,728. The firm has a market capitalization of $474.34 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $499.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.68. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released 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. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNH. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $581.44.

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.