UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 105.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 502,076 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 257,599 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.06% of UnitedHealth Group worth $262,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $394.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $5.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $282.45. The company had a trading volume of 14,902,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,804,385. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $256.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $306.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.