Focus Financial Network Inc. Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Focus Financial Network Inc. reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,876 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,833 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of Focus Financial Network Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Focus Financial Network Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $7.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $317.78. The company had a trading volume of 9,100,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,113,005. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $395.60 and a 200 day moving average of $478.20. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio 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.