NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Purchases 1,811 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,571 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 1,811 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 196,907 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $99,607,000 after acquiring an additional 22,059 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $5.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $313.39. 13,729,200 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,201,840. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.26. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group 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.