UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by City Holding Co.

City Holding Co. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.9% of City Holding Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. City Holding Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Range Financial Group LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 634 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. CMH Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. CMH Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,852 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,255,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.8% during the first quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,485 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 418.0% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 259 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at $9,146,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $303.24 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $409.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $482.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $275.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. TD Cowen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.43.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 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.