MQS Management LLC Invests $328,000 in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 627 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Whitener Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.2% during the first quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,132 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 18,748 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $9,819,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 117,358 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $61,466,000 after acquiring an additional 8,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 735 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $300.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $272.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $438.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased 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. Mizuho cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.00.

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.