FourThought Financial Partners LLC Sells 168 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,868 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.0% of FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 78 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

Insider Activity

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $492.45. The company had a trading volume of 2,487,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,130,659. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $482.32 and a 200 day moving average of $512.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $453.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.