Morningstar Investment Services LLC Sells 5,945 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 60.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,904 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 5,945 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $133,373,000 after buying an additional 9,872 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 45,088 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,808,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $11,732,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $282.45 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50 day moving average is $304.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $433.39. 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 3.13%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $394.43.

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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