UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,571 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,461 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $19,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on UNH shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $394.43.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $13.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $278.52. 22,499,738 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,323,359. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $301.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $428.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $252.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.