UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Cut by Pacific Center for Financial Services

Pacific Center for Financial Services reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 395 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 11,200 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,666,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares in the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,739,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $854,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of UNH stock opened at $303.08 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $274.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $460.62 and a 200-day moving average of $508.74. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $441.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.