UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's 6th Largest Position

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,160 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 2.0% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 187.7% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 676 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $4.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $303.81. 9,789,082 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,687,343. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50-day moving average is $316.42 and its 200-day moving average is $442.28. The firm has a market cap of $275.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business 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 quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.00.

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.