UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 35.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,856 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,614 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the 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 purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $288.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $306.43 and a 200-day moving average of $434.93. The company has a market cap of $261.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business 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 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped 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. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.43.

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.