Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV Sells 240 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,440 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.1% of Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $305.59 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $277.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $459.15.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 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 represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased 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 now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $427.09.

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.