UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Investment Advisory Group LLC

Investment Advisory Group LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 455 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Suncoast Equity Management boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 62,530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,920,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Prosperitas Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. First American Trust FSB raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 1,899 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. Finally, Members Trust Co increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 1,085 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $573.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 6.4 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $28.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $473.93. The stock had a trading volume of 7,389,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,344,380. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $491.15 and its 200-day moving average is $515.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

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.