Elser Financial Planning Inc Takes $497,000 Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 975 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,802,231,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after purchasing an additional 815,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of UNH stock traded down $2.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $578.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,844,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,186,487. The stock has a market capitalization of $533.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59. 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 fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $591.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $534.45 and its 200 day moving average is $508.91.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W raised UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

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.