RF&L Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.21 Million Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

RF&L Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,300 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $22,384,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $306.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $278.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $365.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its 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 net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird cut UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.