Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 17.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,940,206 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,233,209 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.5% of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.65% of UnitedHealth Group worth $3,111,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.
UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%
UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $6.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $250.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,146,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,404,546. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $291.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.
UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.
View Our Latest Research Report on UnitedHealth Group
About UnitedHealth Group
(
Free Report)
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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