First Foundation Advisors Has $14.16 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• First Foundation Advisors reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.3%, now owning 27,042 shares valued at approximately $14.16 million.
• UnitedHealth Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.21, yielding 3.13%, up from $2.10 previously.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded their ratings on UnitedHealth Group, with recent projections showing a consensus target price of $392.29 and classifications ranging from "moderate sell" to "buy."

First Foundation Advisors trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,042 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,450 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors' holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,384,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $133,373,000 after acquiring an additional 9,872 shares in the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,829 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 4.9%

NYSE UNH traded down $12.16 on Friday, reaching $237.40. The company had a trading volume of 39,737,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,975,644. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $298.02 and its 200-day moving average is $418.35.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. 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 payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $373.52.

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.