Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,771 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,761 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,771 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.8% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. Pursue Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $270,000. TrueMark Investments LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 26.2% during the first quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 12,948 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,764,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $427.09.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7%

UNH stock opened at $302.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $359.15 and its 200 day moving average is $461.96. The company has a market capitalization of $273.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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