Central Valley Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,968 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Central Valley Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. 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 MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $303.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $274.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $404.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $480.59.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.