Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Has $21.62 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,360 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $21,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $337.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $414.35.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $292.20. 9,675,144 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,753,955. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $265.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $310.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $437.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. 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. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.