Wright Investors Service Inc. Purchases 1,248 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,449 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.5% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $301.08 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $273.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $430.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.