MFA Wealth Services Sells 80 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

MFA Wealth Services trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 931 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. MFA Wealth Services’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.8% in the first quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 4,204 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 420 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% in the first quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.4% in the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $313.39 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $284.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $386.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $473.26. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

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.