Mason & Associates Inc Has $1.65 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Mason & Associates Inc decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,148 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 953 shares during the quarter. Mason & Associates Inc's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during 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 period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.6%

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $313.39 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $284.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $386.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion for 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 last year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.52.

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.

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