Breakthru Advisory Services LLC Makes New $410,000 Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Breakthru Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 811 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.2%

UNH opened at $296.45 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $268.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $456.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $506.94.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $441.87.

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.