UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Northstar Group Inc.

Northstar Group Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 628 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $313.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $284.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.32.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.