Brighton Jones LLC Sells 14,958 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Brighton Jones LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 33.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,291 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 14,958 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Vicus Capital boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 541 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $133,373,000 after buying an additional 9,872 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $313.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $386.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $473.26.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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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