UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by Shepherd Financial Partners LLC

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,811 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $309.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $280.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $376.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $469.08. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Analysts predict 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 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 a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Baird R W downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.