Bridges Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 283,173 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 19,166 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 2.1% of Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $148,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position 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 valued at $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE UNH traded down $6.92 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $300.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,284,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,573,862. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $320.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $444.69. 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 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price 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. KeyCorp cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.57.

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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