UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Hudson Canyon Capital Management

Hudson Canyon Capital Management reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,518 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Hudson Canyon Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after purchasing an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after buying an additional 94,641 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after acquiring an additional 324,733 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after purchasing an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,802,231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE UNH traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $590.20. 2,944,705 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,690,210. The company has a market cap of $545.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $548.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $512.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $593.26.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.67 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNH. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

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.