First Merchants Corp Has $7.98 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

First Merchants Corp trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 55.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,235 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 19,299 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of UNH traded up $6.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $308.85. 13,584,804 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,448,051. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $339.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $456.28. The company has a market cap of $280.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 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 the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research 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 paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

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.