Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 489 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waycross Partners LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 27,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,060,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,625,000 after acquiring an additional 12,550 shares in 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, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $310.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $281.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $395.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $478.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Cowen downgraded 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

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.