UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,856 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,614 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,373 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $2,075,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $4,971,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $328,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.43.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of UNH stock traded down $5.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $282.45. 14,902,160 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,804,385. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $306.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.93.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.