ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,900 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,210,004,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,691,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,372,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540,538 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after buying an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,679,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,829 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $7.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $501.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,618,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,233,813. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $488.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.13. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

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.