UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Provident Trust Co.'s 10th Largest Position

Provident Trust Co. cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 626,145 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 6,472 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 5.5% of Provident Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Provident Trust Co. owned approximately 0.07% of UnitedHealth Group worth $316,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 88.0% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 258,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $151,374,000 after purchasing an additional 121,180 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $36.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $465.58. 19,847,353 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,805,500. 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 capitalization of $428.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $519.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $560.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business'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 posted $5.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.