Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 4,563 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.9%, now holding 62,002 shares worth approximately $32.47 million, accounting for 1.2% of its investment portfolio.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock experienced a recent 4.3% increase, reaching $251.25, despite missing earnings estimates with an EPS of $4.08 compared to the expected $4.45.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21, increasing from the previous $2.10, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,002 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,563 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.2% of Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $32,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $39,413,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 target price (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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 report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:UNH traded down $1.37 on Thursday, hitting $244.42. 11,331,473 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,403,832. The company has a market cap of $221.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $292.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $408.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.