Lansing Street Advisors Boosts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Lansing Street Advisors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 715 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Lansing Street Advisors’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 122.3% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 14,063 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,162,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,215 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,693,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the second quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 2,723 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $589.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $542.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $564.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $516.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

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.