UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Van Cleef Asset Management Inc

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 17.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in 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 buying an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in 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 buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $303.40. 7,395,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,629,573. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $318.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.71. The firm has a market cap of $275.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.45. 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 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.00.

UnitedHealth Group 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.