Abacus Planning Group Inc. Sells 116 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,333 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 116 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $303.24 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $409.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $483.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.43.

UnitedHealth Group 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.