Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Sells 6,095 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,094 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,095 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 4.0% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $380.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $346.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $378.54 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $488.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $522.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

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.