Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 1,772 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,406 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 541 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $5.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $313.39. 13,729,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,201,840. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock's fifty day moving average is $386.66 and its 200 day moving average is $473.26. The firm has a market cap of $284.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. 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.