877 Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Purchased by Lesa Sroufe & Co

Lesa Sroufe & Co acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 877 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $426.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $307.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $381.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $470.20.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) 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). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

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.

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