Petredis Investment Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,306 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 621 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.7% of Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $303.08 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $404.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.59. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $274.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNH. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.43.

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.