Sit Investment Associates Inc. Buys 411 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,307 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.8% of Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $33,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $277,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $271.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $401.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased 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 owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.