UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 42.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,030 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 25,944 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.2% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Parthenon LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 546 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 4,459 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 211.4% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 24,915 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,604,000 after buying an additional 16,915 shares during the last quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,162 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $510.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $470.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $520.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $561.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.