Riverwater Partners LLC Purchases 225 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,756 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 increased 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 valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE UNH opened at $306.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $278.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $365.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.