Alley Investment Management Company LLC Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 96.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 625 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 14,876 shares during the quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 5.7%

UNH stock traded down $18.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $307.69. The stock had a trading volume of 18,106,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,511,280. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The company's 50 day moving average is $331.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $451.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $279.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut 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 report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.57.

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.