Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Trims Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 47.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 238 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after purchasing an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after purchasing an additional 324,733 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after purchasing an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $5,802,231,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $589.75 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $607.94. The company has a market capitalization of $542.80 billion, a PE ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $564.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

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.