UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,720 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 863.6% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 106 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $139,850,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,652 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 8,067 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 7.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $465.58 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $428.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $519.27 and a 200 day moving average of $560.48.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued 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 a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.