UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,109 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

UNH opened at $517.72 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $510.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.11. The company has a market cap of $473.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.