Patron Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Patron Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,060 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,914,740,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $308.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $280.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $336.21 and a 200 day moving average of $454.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.57.

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.