Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC Has $210,000 Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 36.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 401 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 232 shares during the quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $303.24 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $275.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average of $409.03 and a 200-day moving average of $484.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is an increase 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%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. Mizuho dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.43.

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.