Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Cuts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lessened its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,075 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,459 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,216,132 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $627,573,000 after buying an additional 4,910 shares in the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,582 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 15,421 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $8,077,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $308.69. The company had a trading volume of 6,161,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,543,771. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $448.90. The firm has a market cap of $280.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird cut UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.57.

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.