Palouse Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,752 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.6% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during 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. Capital Insight Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Collective Family Office LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $580.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $535.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $574.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $519.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

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.