WestEnd Advisors LLC Sells 2,772 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

WestEnd Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,475 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,772 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.0% of WestEnd Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $36,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 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 purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $6.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $308.85. The company had a trading volume of 13,584,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,404,577. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $336.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $453.97. The company has a market capitalization of $280.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.