Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 4,639 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Martingale Asset Management L P decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,605 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,639 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.0% of Martingale Asset Management L P's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $40,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 53,866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $27,249,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $581,000. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 440.4% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 886,446 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $433,044,000 after purchasing an additional 722,421 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,253,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $140,962,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $4.70 on Friday, reaching $599.10. 6,117,814 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,344,668. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $438.50 and a 12 month 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 price is $512.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $541.80. The firm has a market cap of $548.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $632.85.

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.