Centerpoint Advisors LLC Has $620,000 Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Centerpoint Advisors LLC reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,184 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 204 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 107,575 shares of company stock worth $31,022,334 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $261.59 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $402.24.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.