UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Auxier Asset Management's 2nd Largest Position

Auxier Asset Management cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,816 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,725 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 5.1% of Auxier Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Auxier Asset Management's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $32,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $295.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $267.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50 day moving average price is $452.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $505.07. 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 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 35.18%.

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.

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