UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by White Pine Capital LLC

White Pine Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,544 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 283 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dohj LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,027,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 6,178 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 98 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 374 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,096,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:UNH traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $495.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,727,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $485.84 and a 200-day moving average of $514.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.