UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Great Lakes Retirement Inc.

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 81.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,707 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 10,660 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.6% of Great Lakes Retirement Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE UNH traded down $1.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $306.90. 11,176,139 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,300,839. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $370.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $467.96. 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 $278.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44.

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 return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.