Brick & Kyle Associates Purchases Shares of 5,003 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Brick & Kyle Associates bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,003 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,548,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 16,134 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,216,000 after buying an additional 994 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 5,822 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,965,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $1,071,000. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.2 %

UNH opened at $581.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $537.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $579.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $523.89.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

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.