Delta Financial Group Inc. Has $2.39 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Delta Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 182.3%, now holding 4,629 shares worth approximately $2.39 million.
• A recent dividend increase saw UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly payout raised to $2.21 per share, up from $2.10, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.7%.
• The stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a current target price of approximately $373.52.

Delta Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 182.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,629 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,989 shares during the quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research dropped their price target 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. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price target (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director 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. Insiders have acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of UNH opened at $237.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $415.36. The company has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during 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%. The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

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.

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