Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,082 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 1,994 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.9% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE UNH traded up $7.40 on Friday, hitting $303.24. 12,558,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,995,173. The company has a market cap of $275.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $409.03 and a 200-day moving average of $484.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho decreased 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $428.43.

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.