DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc Grows Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 34.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,227 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.1% of DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents 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 purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,063 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $306.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $370.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $467.96.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.52.

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.