William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 28,304 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 763,781 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,304 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.2% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $367,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. 25 LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Kalos Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 216.7% in the first quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 76 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $565.00 to $503.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $584.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $520.00 to $640.00 in a report on Monday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $576.90.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 121,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.58, for a total value of $65,688,578.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 521,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,084,374.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 4,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.28, for a total transaction of $2,448,171.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,017,173.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 121,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.58, for a total value of $65,688,578.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 521,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,084,374.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of UNH stock traded down $1.90 on Monday, hitting $534.39. The stock had a trading volume of 861,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,283,581. The firm has a market capitalization of $494.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $445.68 and a 1 year high of $553.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $519.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $498.50.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $92.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.58% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.79 EPS. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.94 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, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 1st. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.64%.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.