Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of UNH stock opened at $306.90 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $365.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released 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 analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $426.52.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.