Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 29,522 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 226,084 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 29,522 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.1% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $118,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $306.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $370.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.96.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. 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. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

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.