UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Holdings Increased by JT Stratford LLC

JT Stratford LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 5.8%

UNH stock opened at $303.08 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $274.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $460.62 and its 200 day moving average is $508.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.