Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 2,904 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,904 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bray Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 9,616 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,848,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $441,000. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 12,445 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,274,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Bluesphere Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.9% during the third quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 2,614 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $486.37 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $487.49 and its 200 day moving average is $514.76. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The stock has a market cap of $448.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.