Value Partners Investments Inc. Sells 7,434 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Value Partners Investments Inc. lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 63.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,332 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 7,434 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $295.37 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $452.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $504.43. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.

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