Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 97.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.6% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,914,740,000. Amundi grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $306.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $278.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $370.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $467.96.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Baird R W cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed 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 on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by 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.