Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 1,851 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Independent Advisor Alliance decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,253 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,851 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.6% of Independent Advisor Alliance's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $9,368,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $277,641,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $39,413,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

UNH stock opened at $250.74 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year 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 capitalization of $227.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $405.18.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report).

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.