PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,889 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 0.8% of PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $307.84 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $381.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $279.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company’s 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 now owns 10,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.