Calton & Associates Inc. Purchases New Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,700 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $5,080,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.6% of Calton & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Citizens National Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in shares of 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% during the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $277,641,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $39,413,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of UNH stock traded down $5.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $282.45. 14,902,160 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,818,498. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $304.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $432.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 prior year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $394.43.

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.