UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 484,959 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,897 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.8% of USS Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $245,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 8.2%

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $315.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $286.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $467.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $511.49.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $454.23.

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.