Trust Co. of Vermont Purchases 551 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,544 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.0% of Trust Co. of Vermont’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $20,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $133,373,000 after acquiring an additional 9,872 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $625,000. Finally, Heritage Investors Management Corp raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 68,313 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $34,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.1%

UNH opened at $302.43 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $339.15 and its 200-day moving average is $456.28. The company has a market cap of $274.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on UNH shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.57.

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.