UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD

Key Points

• Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 38.8% during the first quarter, now owning 2,372 shares valued at approximately $1.24 million.
• Multiple analysts have lowered their price targets for UnitedHealth Group, with HSBC reducing its target from $490.00 to $270.00, signaling a shift in market sentiment.
• UnitedHealth Group reported earnings of $4.08 per share, missing estimates by $0.37, despite a 12.9% year-over-year revenue increase.

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 38.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,372 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,505 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $351.00 to $306.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $12.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $237.40. The company had a trading volume of 39,874,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,268,408. The company's 50-day moving average is $296.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $414.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

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.