Wedgewood Partners Inc. Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wedgewood Partners Inc. decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,384 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,651 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 5.5% of Wedgewood Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Wedgewood Partners Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $28,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the company’s 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 purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $291.24 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $470.82 and its 200 day moving average is $513.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $264.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS 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 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $486.00.

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.