UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 833 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $26,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.2 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $493.35 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $451.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $513.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $553.76.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is 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.