River Road Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

River Road Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,708 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,670 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $38,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the first quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $127,592,000 after acquiring an additional 60,300 shares during the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the first quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $875,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $571.20.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE UNH traded up $10.10 on Wednesday, hitting $478.99. 8,754,072 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,451,675. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $441.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $490.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $515.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company 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.