US Bancorp DE Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,092,682 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 20,089 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.9% of US Bancorp DE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. US Bancorp DE owned 0.12% of UnitedHealth Group worth $575,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:UNH traded down $4.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $517.09. 1,568,495 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,169,837. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $488.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $511.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $475.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.55. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 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.