Berbice Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Berbice Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,630 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,371 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 2.5% of Berbice Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Berbice Capital Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company'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 purchase, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 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.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $303.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $275.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $314.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $440.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for 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 quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.00.

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.

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