Prentice Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,363 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.5% of Prentice Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Prentice Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 31,972 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,367,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 12,874 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,188,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 11,186 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $443,000. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. 85.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. SVB Securities reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $560.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. HSBC began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $540.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $592.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $575.65.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.19, for a total transaction of $2,024,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,573 shares in the company, valued at $39,772,866.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.6 %

UNH opened at $486.70 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $445.68 and a 12 month high of $558.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $491.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $486.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.92 by $0.22. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.72% and a net margin of 6.06%. The business had revenue of $92.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.83 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.65%.

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.