Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 51.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,534 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 76,971 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $38,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $354,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm'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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director directly 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $5.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $302.08. 12,778,535 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,629,597. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $318.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $443.71. The firm has a market cap of $274.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.45.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.00.

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.