Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Sells 972 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,531 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 972 shares during the period. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $5.62 on Wednesday, reaching $302.08. 12,778,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,611,336. The company has a fifty day moving average of $320.63 and a 200-day moving average of $444.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $274.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.45 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNH. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.