Verde Capital Management Sells 48 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Verde Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 481 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Verde Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth 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 acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $301.08 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $430.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.23. The stock has a market cap of $273.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $441.87.

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.