Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,534 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,564 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.2% of Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.2% in the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,769 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $9,830,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 15.4% during the first quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 726 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 12,731 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $6,668,000 after acquiring an additional 1,879 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 3,441 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,802,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 3,232 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE UNH traded down $4.46 on Thursday, reaching $288.03. The company had a trading volume of 14,738,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,770,851. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $308.39 and a 200-day moving average of $436.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $414.35.

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.