Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 5,107 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 36.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,848 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 5,107 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings 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 period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded down $5.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $282.45. The stock had a trading volume of 14,902,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,818,498. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $432.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 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 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. Analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. 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. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.43.

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.