Aviva PLC Sells 144,457 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Aviva PLC cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 892,380 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 144,457 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.2% of Aviva PLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Aviva PLC owned about 0.10% of UnitedHealth Group worth $451,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,012,218,000 after buying an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,148,134,000 after acquiring an additional 182,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $630.35.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $14.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $567.17. 4,595,211 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,299,407. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $509.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $541.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.