Provident Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Provident Investment Management Inc. cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,347 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,044 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 4.2% of Provident Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Provident Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $44,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Wallace Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,304,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Stephens lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.9 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $15.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $524.94. The company had a trading volume of 9,914,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,261,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $480.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $509.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $542.37.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.