Bard Financial Services Inc. Has $652,000 Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bard Financial Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 38.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,245 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $303.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $399.88 and a 200-day moving average of $479.36. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $275.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. 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. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased 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 now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. 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. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.43.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.