UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Howard Bailey Securities LLC

Howard Bailey Securities LLC trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,253 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $313.39 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $386.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $472.32. The company has a market capitalization of $284.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. 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 twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Raymond James lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% 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 currently owned by company insiders.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.