Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Lowers Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,624 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,363 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $24,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $414.35.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $292.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $436.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

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.