UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,216,132 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 4,910 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.6% of WCM Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. WCM Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of UnitedHealth Group worth $627,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $325.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $331.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.