PGGM Investments Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

PGGM Investments trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 77.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,971 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 20,825 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Community Trust & Investment Co. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 59,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,455,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Second Line Capital LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.3% in the first quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,175,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 45.1% in the first quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,241,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH traded up $17.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $589.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,094,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,453,607. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $591.54. The firm has a market cap of $542.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $514.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.26.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

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.