UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Meridian Financial Partners LLC

Meridian Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.6% of Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 25,756 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,742,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,455 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 14,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,281,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,677 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,293,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.7 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $509.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $468.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $498.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $501.96.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

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.