Riverbridge Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Riverbridge Partners LLC cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,346 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $74,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,914,740,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,183,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given 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 target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, 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 Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $306.90 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $278.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The business's fifty day moving average price is $365.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.88.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

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.

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