Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 3,352 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,483 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,352 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 2.3% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $127,592,000 after buying an additional 60,300 shares during the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at $875,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.68.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $16.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $495.19. 3,698,705 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,454,605. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $456.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $489.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.38.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

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.