Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Buys 1,179 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 53.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,405 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5%

UNH opened at $309.14 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $280.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $376.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $469.08.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 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.