Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $6.13 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,633 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.6 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $2.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $486.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,359,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,427,830. The stock has a market capitalization of $447.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $484.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $513.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.