Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 4,951 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,154 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,951 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $277,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of UNH stock traded up $4.30 on Friday, hitting $303.81. The stock had a trading volume of 9,789,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,703,876. The business has a 50 day moving average of $314.52 and a 200 day moving average of $440.43. The stock has a market cap of $275.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 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. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.00.

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.