Simplicity Wealth LLC Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 252.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,898 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 5,655 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $303.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,347,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,047,408. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $404.62 and a 200-day moving average of $480.59. The stock has a market cap of $275.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $428.43.

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.