UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Watershed Private Wealth LLC

Watershed Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,108 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Watershed Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $542.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $499.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $540.11 and a 200-day moving average of $565.06.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.