Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Purchases 2,500 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.6% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 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 insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.2 %

UNH traded down $1.37 on Friday, hitting $590.20. 2,944,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,101,315. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $545.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $548.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $512.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $593.26.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

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.