MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 2,168 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,150 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 2,168 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of United Therapeutics worth $8,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 678.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $314.00 price target (down from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $314.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $357.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $390.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total transaction of $3,536,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,330.28. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at $2,703,424. The trade was a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,500 shares of company stock valued at $28,179,150 in the last ninety days. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR stock traded down $5.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $291.38. 311,498 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,512. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $310.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $346.99. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $233.31 and a one year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.