Baillie Gifford & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 707,792 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 50,631 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $370,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of 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 worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 3,642 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,907,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.43.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $278.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $301.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $252.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.