Kempner Capital Management Inc. Takes $2.30 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Kempner Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,390 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,299,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 22.4% in the first quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV now owns 1,285 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Finally, DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc now owns 2,227 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $306.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $278.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $370.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.96. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.28% 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.