Sharp Financial Services LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sharp Financial Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 22.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 685 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Sharp Financial Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.5% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,462,000 after acquiring an additional 4,371 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,128,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,257,131,000 after acquiring an additional 196,696 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 47,312 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $24,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.5% during the first quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 12,879 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.3% during the first quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 773 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $308.69 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $280.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $324.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $447.68.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on UNH. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.57.

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.