Ninety One UK Ltd Cuts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,432 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 922 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $176,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the 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 owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 3.0 %

UNH stock traded up $14.54 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $493.53. The company had a trading volume of 4,870,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,469,449. The company has a 50 day moving average of $489.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $515.38. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The company has a market capitalization of $455.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.68.

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.