Riverbridge Partners LLC Trims Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Riverbridge Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $19,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $5.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $302.04. 16,024,789 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,344,517. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $359.15 and a 200 day moving average of $463.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $273.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $427.09.

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.