UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.8%, owning 251,890 shares worth approximately $131.93 million after acquiring an additional 15,983 shares.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock has seen a range from a 12-month low of $234.60 to a high of $630.73, currently trading at $240.94.
• Recent analyst ratings include a downgrade from HSBC with a price target of $270, and a revised target of $418 from JPMorgan Chase & Co., indicating mixed sentiments from the market.

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,890 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 15,983 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $131,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $371.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 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.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $240.94 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $218.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $295.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $412.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, 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 results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

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.

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