Advisors Preferred LLC Acquires New Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,200 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,674,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH traded down $13.99 on Thursday, reaching $278.52. 22,499,738 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,323,359. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's 50-day moving average price is $301.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $428.82.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $394.43.

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.