Cerity Partners LLC Trims Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 443,059 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 33,933 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $232,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.00.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $4.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $303.81. 9,789,082 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,687,343. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $316.42 and its 200 day moving average is $442.28. 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 stock has a market cap of $275.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

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.