SOL Capital Management CO Grows Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

SOL Capital Management CO boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,511 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.9% of SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $277,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,625,000 after buying an additional 12,550 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $302.19 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $274.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $342.22 and its 200 day moving average is $458.07.

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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was 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 this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% 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.