Fortitude Family Office LLC Trims Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Fortitude Family Office LLC lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 3,642 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 25.1% during the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,381 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% in the first quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,561 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,674,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 19,576 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,253,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 109,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $57,591,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.3%

UNH stock opened at $310.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $395.60 and a 200-day moving average of $478.20. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. 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. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.