Golden State Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 178.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,776 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of UNH opened at $305.59 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $347.89 and its 200 day moving average is $459.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. 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 yield of 2.89%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $427.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.