Bell Investment Advisors Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bell Investment Advisors Inc trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 457 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,275,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,695,000. Finally, Wade G W & Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Wade G W & Inc. now owns 12,664 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,667,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. HSBC boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $589.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $516.56. The company has a market cap of $542.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.14 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

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.