Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Increases Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 56.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,800 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 18,400 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.1% of Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $26,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $305.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $347.89 and a 200 day moving average of $459.15.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Mizuho lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $427.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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