Whalerock Point Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Whalerock Point Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 99.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,090 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,518,317 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.6% of Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $9.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $576.69. The stock had a trading volume of 4,137,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,302,601. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $530.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.60. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $581.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $510.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $501.77.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.