Essex Savings Bank Sells 121 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Essex Savings Bank reduced its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,441 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $309.14 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $280.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $376.32 and its 200-day moving average is $469.08.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.