B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 6,820 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,405 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 6,820 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.5% of B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded up $2.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $297.49. 15,953,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,692,837. The company has a 50-day moving average of $443.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $500.04. The company has a market capitalization of $269.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $441.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.