Drake & Associates LLC Buys 204 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Drake & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 22.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,110 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird downgraded UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:UNH opened at $308.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $280.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $324.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $447.32. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.