Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $130.74 Million Stock Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 370,540 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.83% of United Therapeutics worth $130,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Milestone Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,999,000 after purchasing an additional 50,291 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 113.3% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 23,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after buying an additional 12,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in United Therapeutics by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,532,000 after buying an additional 123,929 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $315.91 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $354.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $359.94. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.36 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.05, for a total transaction of $3,710,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $956,195.85. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,464 shares of company stock valued at $42,396,244. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UTHR. UBS Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.