UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,335 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 522 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 4,659 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,972 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,091,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 13,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,837,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,840 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,048,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $528.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $486.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $543.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $563.78.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

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.