UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 33.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,562 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,760 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the 4th 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 valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $5.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $282.45. 14,902,160 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,800,312. The firm has a market cap of $256.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $306.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $434.93.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.43.

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.