SOL Capital Management CO Boosts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

SOL Capital Management CO increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,511 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.9% of SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $302.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $458.07. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $274.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.57.

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.