Advocate Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Advocate Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. 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 SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $4.91 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $305.59. 8,755,449 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,372,104. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $353.44 and a 200-day moving average of $460.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. 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 2.89%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Cowen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $427.09.

UnitedHealth Group 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.