Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 1,561 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,722 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,561 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.5% of Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $303.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business's 50 day moving average price is $409.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $484.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 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.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $428.43.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.