UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,593 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,599 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 771 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 4,567 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,392,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $2,299,000. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV now owns 1,285 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 97.4% during the first quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $306.90 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $278.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $370.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $467.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.