Violich Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Violich Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,755 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,670 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 2.4% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $18,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.2 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $533.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $490.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $529.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $564.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

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.