Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 78,938 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its position in 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 firm 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 SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Baird R W downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.57.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.5%

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $7.85 on Wednesday, hitting $299.85. 4,816,708 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,581,969. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $272.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $320.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $444.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm 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 prior year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share 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 $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

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.