Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares, bringing its total to 46,038 shares valued at approximately $24.1 million.
• UnitedHealth Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, up from $2.10, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5%.
• As of now, UnitedHealth Group's stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price averaged at $371.67, amidst several mixed price target revisions from different analysts.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $24,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $6.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $250.74. 10,146,688 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,404,546. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $291.78 and a 200-day moving average of $406.82. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 directly owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.