New Century Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,205 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after buying an additional 324,733 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after acquiring an additional 35,533 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $584.68 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $607.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $579.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $525.06. The company has a market capitalization of $539.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.