HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 30,847 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 557,932 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 30,847 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of UnitedHealth Group worth $282,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after acquiring an additional 318,039 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,394 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during 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 during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $486.54 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock's 50-day moving average is $512.82 and its 200 day moving average is $552.00. The firm has a market cap of $445.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

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