UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Lowered by Portside Wealth Group LLC

Portside Wealth Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 31.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,559 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,969 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $428.43.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE UNH traded down $4.77 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $295.61. 12,427,990 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,936,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50 day moving average is $418.00 and its 200-day moving average is $488.12. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.