Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Purchases 1,179 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 53.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,405 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in 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 last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5%

UNH stock opened at $309.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $376.32 and its 200 day moving average is $469.08. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $280.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.