UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by North Star Asset Management Inc.

North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,447 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:UNH opened at $295.37 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $452.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $505.07.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.87.

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.