Wedmont Private Capital Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wedmont Private Capital lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,096 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 685 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $303.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $409.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $483.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, HSBC reissued 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.43.

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.