UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,983 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,958 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $20,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,197,167 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,869,320,000 after buying an additional 107,097 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stephens raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 7.3 %

NYSE UNH traded down $36.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $465.58. 19,847,353 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,805,500. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $519.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $560.54. 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 cap of $428.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.61.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.