Transform Wealth LLC Sells 7,378 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Transform Wealth LLC reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 74.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,512 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,378 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

Insider Activity

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.3%

UNH stock opened at $310.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $395.60 and its 200 day moving average is $478.20. The stock has a market cap of $281.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. 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.

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 firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business earned $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a boost 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 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

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.