UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 42.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,272 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,623 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded down $5.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $302.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,778,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,611,336. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $274.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $320.63 and a 200-day moving average of $444.69.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate 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.