Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Acquires New Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,963 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $2,075,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $303.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $314.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $439.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS 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 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 last year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given 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 2.91%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.

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