Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 966 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 27.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,567 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 966 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.7% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $584.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $579.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $525.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $607.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $539.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.