Mason & Associates Inc Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Mason & Associates Inc reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 23.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,148 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 953 shares during the period. Mason & Associates Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.6%

UNH stock opened at $313.39 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.32. The firm has a market cap of $284.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.