Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 726 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th 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 holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $303.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $404.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $480.59. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased 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 now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.