Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Sells 15,692 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 69.2% in the first quarter, selling 15,692 shares and leaving them with 6,996 shares valued at $3.66 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $2.10 to $2.21 per share, representing an annualized $8.84 dividend with a yield of 3.5%.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $371.67, while some analysts have reduced their price targets significantly.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 69.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,996 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 15,692 shares during the quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $244.42. 11,331,473 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,403,832. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $221.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $292.78 and its 200 day moving average is $408.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 price objective (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $366.52.

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.