Stephens Inc. AR Sells 2,119 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,726 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,119 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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 boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $133,373,000 after acquiring an additional 9,872 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 187.7% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 676 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $4.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $303.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,789,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,703,876. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $314.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $275.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during 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 company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders 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 an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.00.

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.