Wedmont Private Capital Increases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,280 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus raised their target price 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, StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $591.22 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $582.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $529.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The company has a market capitalization of $545.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.