FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH reduced its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 679 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 2.2% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Baird R W cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $313.39 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $386.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $472.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.