Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 172.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,772 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.6% of Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $300.37 on Tuesday. 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 $312.43 and its 200 day moving average is $438.47. The company has a market cap of $272.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Raymond James Financial lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price 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. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.00.

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.