Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $2.26 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 79.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,570 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 17,448 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 45.1% in the 1st 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. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 58.3% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:UNH traded up $10.04 on Friday, hitting $569.72. 3,202,023 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,159,030. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $581.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $508.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $501.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.68 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.