UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,666 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,829 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,914,740,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,183,132,000 after buying an additional 2,991,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,346,712,000 after buying an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7%

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $5.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $302.04. 16,024,789 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,346,801. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $273.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $359.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $427.09.

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.