UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Willis Johnson & Associates Inc.

Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 593 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,637,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,689,000. Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,555,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 548.5% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 81,032 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,992,000 after purchasing an additional 68,536 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following 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. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 8.2%

UNH stock opened at $315.80 on Tuesday. 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 quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $467.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $511.49. The company has a market capitalization of $286.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

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.