Columbia Asset Management Sells 177 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Columbia Asset Management trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 26.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 499 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,914,740,000. Amundi increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.3%

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $300.37 on Thursday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $418.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $488.12. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $272.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.43.

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.