Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,694 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 5,918 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.8% of Xponance Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $79,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in 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 during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in 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 period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in 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 period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 52.1% in 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 period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 187.7% in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $4.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $303.81. 9,789,082 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,687,343. The firm has a market cap of $275.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $314.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $440.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.00.

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.