Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 21.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,317 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.4% of Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on UNH shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.43.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $303.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $275.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $409.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $483.40.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

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.