UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,375 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 11,550 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 2.0% of Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $26,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $315.80 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $467.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $511.49.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 35.18%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm's 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $454.23.

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.

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