UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Lessened by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,780 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,904,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after buying an additional 815,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,879,245,000 after buying an additional 623,631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 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 Price Performance

UNH traded up $1.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $495.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,608,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,508,195. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $485.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective 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. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

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.