UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 26.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 970 shares during the quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Mizuho cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.4%

NYSE UNH traded up $13.86 on Tuesday, hitting $325.83. 17,631,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,456,712. The company has a market capitalization of $295.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $333.94 and a 200 day moving average of $452.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.