Delta Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after purchasing an additional 544,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after acquiring an additional 94,641 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 35,533 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,920,039,000 after buying an additional 21,149 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $592.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $581.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $526.64. The company has a market capitalization of $547.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on UNH. Argus raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.