UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Joseph Group Capital Management

Joseph Group Capital Management raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 27.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,477 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.9% of Joseph Group Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Joseph Group Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $277,641,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $39,413,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $299.15 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $271.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $316.42 and a 200-day moving average of $442.28.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 directly owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. 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. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. 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 target price of $415.00.

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.