Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. Sells 1,148 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 62.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 691 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,148 shares during the period. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th 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 boosted 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 bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th 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. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE UNH opened at $303.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $275.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $399.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $479.36. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year 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 released its 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% 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 valued at $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.