Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 30,450 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Calamos Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 30,450 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.7% of Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $159,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $308.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $327.18 and a 200 day moving average of $448.90. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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