Pacific Center for Financial Services Trims Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Pacific Center for Financial Services lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waycross Partners LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 27,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,060,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,625,000 after buying an additional 12,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 5.8%

UNH opened at $303.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $460.62 and its 200-day moving average is $508.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.87.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.