Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 39,398 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 40.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,327 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 39,398 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.8% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $29,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after purchasing an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,148,134,000 after buying an additional 182,361 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $503.05 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $460.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $510.48 and its 200 day moving average is $548.22.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. 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 posted $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Stephens lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.