Cooke & Bieler LP Sells 1,632 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cooke & Bieler LP lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,632 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $125,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,025,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,060,000 after buying an additional 41,308 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,611,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $479.14 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. 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 market capitalization of $438.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $513.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $552.69.

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UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $629.32.

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.

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