Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Sells 325 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 747 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $313.39 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $386.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $474.19. The stock has a market cap of $284.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

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.