Shufro Rose & Co. LLC Decreases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Shufro Rose & Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,675 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Wall Street Zen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. TD Cowen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE UNH opened at $295.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $452.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $504.43. The company has a market capitalization of $267.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.