UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,720 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 88.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 258,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $151,374,000 after buying an additional 121,180 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,321 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,351,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 7.3 %

UNH stock opened at $465.58 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $519.27 and a 200-day moving average of $560.48.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.