D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Sells 9,603 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 38.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,387 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 9,603 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.6% of D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 25 LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Kalos Management Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.19, for a total transaction of $2,024,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,573 shares in the company, valued at $39,772,866.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $480.11 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $445.68 and a 12-month high of $558.10. The company has a market capitalization of $444.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $491.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $486.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.92 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $92.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.97 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 26.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.83 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be given a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $564.00 to $555.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $549.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $595.00 to $603.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $575.65.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.