Lpwm LLC Buys 1,742 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Lpwm LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 201.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,608 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the quarter. Lpwm LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Waycross Partners LLC grew 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 worth $14,060,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $19,625,000 after acquiring an additional 12,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business's 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 acquisition, the director now owns 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

UNH stock traded up $7.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $303.24. The company had a trading volume of 12,558,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,009,546. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $275.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average of $409.03 and a 200 day moving average of $483.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. 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 company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase 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 2.92%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $428.43.

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.