Essex LLC Buys New Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Essex LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 877 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $308.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $336.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $453.53.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. 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 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.57.

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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