Naples Global Advisors LLC Acquires 857 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,325 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.8% of Naples Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Grassi Investment Management lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 1,350 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% in the first quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Matrix Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 3,691 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.43.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.3%

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $300.37 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $418.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $488.12. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.