Hemenway Trust Co LLC Purchases 756 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hemenway Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,943 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 2.3% of Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $28,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now 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 90 days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $309.14 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $376.32 and its 200 day moving average is $469.08. The company has a market cap of $280.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.