NavPoint Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

NavPoint Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,201 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $492.45. 2,487,811 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,130,659. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $482.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $512.76. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $453.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.