UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) CFO Purchases $4,999,986.00 in Stock

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $16.89 on Friday, hitting $291.24. The stock had a trading volume of 70,463,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,862,879. The company's 50-day moving average is $474.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $515.82. The stock has a market cap of $264.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during 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 previous year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $486.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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