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

Columbus Macro LLC decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,141 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,036 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $313.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.32. The company has a market cap of $284.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business 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 company earned $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $426.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.