UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Eagle Capital Management LLC

Eagle Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,574 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.0% of Eagle Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Eagle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waycross Partners LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 27,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,060,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $19,625,000 after buying an additional 12,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.43.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $303.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $399.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $479.36.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.