UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,564 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 655 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 77.4% in the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 17,332 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,768,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 16,003 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,095,000 after buying an additional 2,372 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 175,619 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $88,839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Finally, Paladin Wealth LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 2,497 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $533.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $490.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. 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 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $529.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.40.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.