UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Lessened by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

by · The Cerbat Gem

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,211 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Raymond James Financial downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $415.57.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $307.69 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $329.50 and a 200-day moving average of $450.21. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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