Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC Makes New $10.12 Million Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $10,117,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.3% of Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Persium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $499,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,743 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 4,193 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,121,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Marion Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 5,261 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH traded up $16.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $291.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 70,463,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,862,879. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $474.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $515.82. 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 has a market capitalization of $264.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $486.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.