QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 43,814 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 140,266 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 43,814 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.7% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $70,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Paragon Capital Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $463.69 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $517.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $558.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $426.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company 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.