SNS Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

SNS Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,944 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% during the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of UNH traded down $5.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $282.45. The company had a trading volume of 14,902,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,804,386. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $304.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $433.39. The stock has a market cap of $256.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.43.

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.