Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,715 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 640,240 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $105,006,000 after buying an additional 15,403 shares during the last quarter. Honeywell International Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $35,262,000. Baldwin Brothers Inc. MA raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.7% in the first quarter. Baldwin Brothers Inc. MA now owns 1,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Harwood Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Harwood Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the first quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 25,730 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,946,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. 86.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) traded down 0.98% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,858,501 shares. The company’s 50 day moving average is $190.49 and its 200 day moving average is $175.87. The firm has a market cap of $184.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92 and a beta of 0.64. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $132.39 and a one year high of $196.04.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $50.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.97 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post $9.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.13%.
A number of analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Vetr raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $179.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Zacks Investment Research raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $199.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. BidaskClub raised UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America Corporation raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $210.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.41.
In related news, Director Gail R. Wilensky sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.74, for a total transaction of $990,219.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,816,629.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William C. Ballard, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.64, for a total value of $913,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,832,240.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,540 shares of company stock valued at $2,873,320 in the last three months. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.
UnitedHealth Group Company Profile
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a health and well-being company. The Company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight and OptumRx. It conducts its operations through two business platforms: health benefits operating under UnitedHealthcare and health services operating under Optum.
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