UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by West Coast Financial LLC

West Coast Financial LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 22,815 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.4% of West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 75,602 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $39,802,000 after buying an additional 5,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3 %

UNH traded up $1.87 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $580.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,637,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,197,130. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $591.54. The company has a market cap of $536.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $531.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $507.93.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.