TradeLink Capital LLC Makes New $713,000 Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

TradeLink Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $713,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 2.1% of TradeLink Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,802,231,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $434,501,000 after buying an additional 802,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.2 %

UNH stock opened at $588.63 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $607.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $566.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $517.06. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $543.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

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.