Sterling Investment Management LLC Sells 116 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sterling Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,211 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 116 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.6% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $310.70 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $395.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $478.20. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $281.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.