Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 5,784 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 39.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,573 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,784 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Baxter Bros Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 860 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,464,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 692 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,911 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,667,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 110,967 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $58,119,000 after acquiring an additional 13,960 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $304.27 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $426.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $490.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $276.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired 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 now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Cowen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $439.17.

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.