Legacy Trust Sells 63 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Legacy Trust lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 832 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Legacy Trust’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $538.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $539.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.28. The company has a market cap of $495.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% 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.