Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 10,927 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,631 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 10,927 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $50,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 67,586 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $34,189,000 after buying an additional 20,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,110,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $311.89 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $333.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $452.07. The stock has a market cap of $282.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. 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. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.

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