Bell Bank Trims Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bell Bank cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 57.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,113 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,211 shares during the period. Bell Bank's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.9% during the first quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 13,889 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 633 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Lesa Sroufe & Co purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $459,000. Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 1,027 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 5,177 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $307.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $279.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $381.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $470.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.52.

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.

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