Echo45 Advisors LLC Sells 58 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Echo45 Advisors LLC trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 561 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Waycross Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 27,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,060,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $19,625,000 after buying an additional 12,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $310.70 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $395.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $478.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $281.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is a boost 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

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.