Spire Wealth Management Sells 119 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Spire Wealth Management trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,214 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $305.59 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $347.89 and its 200 day moving average is $459.15. 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 market capitalization of $277.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its 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 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average 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.