Ninety One UK Ltd Reduces Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 33.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 158,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 78,938 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $82,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded up $4.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $303.81. 9,789,082 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,687,343. 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 company has a market capitalization of $275.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $314.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $440.88.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen cut 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $337.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director directly 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. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.