Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 880,183 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.5% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,942,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Black Diamond Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 492.2% during the 2nd quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 23,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,063,000 after acquiring an additional 19,687 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,016,952 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $517,893,000 after acquiring an additional 39,713 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,194,000. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 171,321 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $87,247,000 after buying an additional 3,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $594.32 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $548.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $569.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $517.70.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.