Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Sells 13,510 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 69.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,975 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 13,510 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded down $4.46 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $288.03. 14,738,720 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,770,851. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $308.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $436.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $261.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $414.35.

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.