Islay Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Islay Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,352 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 324 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.0% of Islay Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after acquiring an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,934,895,000 after buying an additional 341,749 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,242,282 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,155,676,000 after buying an additional 180,331 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,843,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,937,976,000 after buying an additional 27,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,757,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,902,829,000 after purchasing an additional 352,710 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $4.92 on Tuesday, hitting $484.11. 1,245,295 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,440,224. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $445.42 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $485.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $513.81. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

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.