Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Sells 4,024 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 83.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 798 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,024 shares during the period. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the first 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. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $3.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $307.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,600,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,574,032. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $278.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $322.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $445.65.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNH. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 quarter, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.