Essex Financial Services Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,725 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 839 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of UNH opened at $308.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $336.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $453.97.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Bank of America lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.57.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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