Summa Corp. Boosts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Summa Corp. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,485 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 0.5% of Summa Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Summa Corp.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $309.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $376.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $469.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

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.