UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Holdings Lowered by Sierra Capital LLC

Sierra Capital LLC cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 60.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F 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 institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 43.6% in the first quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 70.0% in the first quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 32,059 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $16,791,000 after purchasing an additional 13,202 shares during the last quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 438.1% in the first quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 6,350 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 5,170 shares during the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.4% in the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $5,581,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price target (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.00.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.8%

UNH traded down $5.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $302.08. 12,778,535 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,629,597. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $320.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $444.69. The company has a market cap of $274.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for 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 in the previous year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.