Bellevue Group AG Sells 65,837 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bellevue Group AG lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,713 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 65,837 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.6% of Bellevue Group AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Bellevue Group AG's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $80,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 9,350 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,730,000 after acquiring an additional 3,050 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 818 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 3,848 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $4.89 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $404.81. 8,146,436 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,625,259. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $494.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $527.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $393.11 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $368.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $596.86.

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.