UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Advocate Group LLC

Advocate Group LLC trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,477 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,581 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was 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 now owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 purchased a total of 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 Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $5.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $302.04. The stock had a trading volume of 16,024,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,346,801. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $273.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The business's fifty day moving average price is $359.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $462.77. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, HSBC reissued 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 research 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.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $427.09.

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.