Ellenbecker Investment Group Purchases 233 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ellenbecker Investment Group grew its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,280 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 0.4% of Ellenbecker Investment Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,062,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:UNH opened at $303.89 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $399.88 and its 200-day moving average is $479.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $275.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective 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. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.43.

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.