UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) CFO John F. Rex Acquires 17,175 Shares

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $2.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $318.53. The stock had a trading volume of 16,050,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,148,577. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $288.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $467.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $511.49.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $454.23.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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.