Donaldson Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 2.2% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $57,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waycross Partners LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 27,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $14,060,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $19,625,000 after acquiring an additional 12,550 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $7.22 on Thursday, hitting $317.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,100,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,113,005. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $288.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $395.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $478.20.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price target (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.52.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.