Gateway Advisory LLC Has $4.41 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Gateway Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,173 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 904 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.9% of Gateway Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Gateway Advisory LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 25 LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Kalos Management Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 216.7% during the first quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 76 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $587.00 to $579.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $540.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.30.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $3.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $536.29. 2,676,925 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,390,124. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $519.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $498.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $445.68 and a fifty-two week high of $553.00. The company has a market cap of $496.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $92.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.58%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.94 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 4th will be given a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 1st. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 121,515 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.58, for a total value of $65,688,578.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 521,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,084,374.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 121,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.58, for a total transaction of $65,688,578.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 521,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,084,374.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 4,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.28, for a total transaction of $2,448,171.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,017,173.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.