Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 552 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.2 %

UNH traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $590.20. 2,944,705 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,690,210. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $548.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $512.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $593.26. The company has a market cap of $545.00 billion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.