UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by First Command Advisory Services Inc.

First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,157 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $337.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $300.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $272.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $312.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $438.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, 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. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.