FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Sells 548 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,454 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 548 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 2.2% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.2% during the second quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. now owns 184,925 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $94,175,000 after purchasing an additional 12,372 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 337,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $171,750,000 after buying an additional 3,348 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 47.4% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,302 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $13,394,000 after acquiring an additional 8,458 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 62,584 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $31,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 39,031 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $19,877,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of UNH traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $510.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,462,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,104,531. The business has a fifty day moving average of $549.37 and a 200 day moving average of $563.18. The company has a market cap of $469.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $627.74.

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.