PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Increases Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,889 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.8% of PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th 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. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $307.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $279.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $381.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $470.20. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 2.87%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

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.