Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 20.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $7.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $303.24. 12,558,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,976,622. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $275.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $413.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $486.09. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.