Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,768 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,768 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $37,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,652 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $427.09.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7%

UNH stock opened at $302.04 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $273.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $359.15 and its 200 day moving average is $461.96. 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company 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.

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