UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,765 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 7,555 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $27,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $300.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,202,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,130,184. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $359.15 and a 200 day moving average of $461.96. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $427.09.

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.