Indie Asset Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Indie Asset Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 633 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Indie Asset Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $270.00 price target (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $392.29.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE UNH opened at $282.13 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $422.56. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $255.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.