Kovack Advisors Inc. Buys 1,703 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 35.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,483 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 45.1% during the first quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 74 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE UNH traded down $8.35 on Thursday, hitting $489.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,239,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,580,982. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $450.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $498.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $501.12.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

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.