MFG Wealth Management Inc. Buys Shares of 2,237 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

MFG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,237 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $700,000. Finally, Exchange Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $426,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $302.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $342.22 and a 200 day moving average of $458.07.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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 return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company 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 company earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

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.