Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS Raises Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS grew its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,424 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:UNH opened at $297.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $269.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $439.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $498.65. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last released 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 net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Securities reiterated 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $441.87.

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.