First Bank & Trust Acquires 76 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

First Bank & Trust grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,459 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after buying an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the 4th 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 valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $325.83 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $331.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.20. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

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.