UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Decreased by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 145,767 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,363 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 6.4% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $73,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $540,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,223,000. Wallace Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,444,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Covington Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,038,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $543.41 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. 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 $541.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $564.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $500.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

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.