Pictet North America Advisors SA Has $9.78 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Pictet North America Advisors SA trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,680 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 837 shares during the quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $2.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $310.10. 4,264,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,516,106. The business's 50-day moving average price is $329.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.45. 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.

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). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business posted $6.91 EPS. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.