Davidson Investment Advisors Acquires 13,202 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Davidson Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 70.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,059 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 13,202 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 438.1% in the first quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 6,350 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,326,000 after buying an additional 5,170 shares in the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.4% in the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $5,581,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,399 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $11,731,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 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. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $4.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $302.90. The company had a trading volume of 8,440,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,105,126. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $320.63 and a 200-day moving average of $444.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $274.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.57.

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.