UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,455 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 2.7% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,878 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE UNH opened at $303.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $409.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $484.21.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.43.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.