American Trust Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

American Trust lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,294 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 803 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $295.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $452.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $504.43. The stock has a market cap of $267.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $441.87.

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.