Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Buys 4,817 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,222 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,817 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $41,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diligent Investors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 93.6% during the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 37,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $18,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. EHP Funds Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. EHP Funds Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 16,326 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,258,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $391.05 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $491.52 and its 200 day moving average is $525.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.95 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $385.70 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.18%.

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.