Sierra Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sierra Capital LLC lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 60.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,819 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,757 shares during the quarter. Sierra Capital LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $4.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $303.81. The company had a trading volume of 9,789,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,687,343. The company has a market capitalization of $275.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $314.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.88. 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 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 net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

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.