Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,722 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,561 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.5% of Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital & Planning LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,878 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $303.24 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $275.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $409.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $484.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.