FineMark National Bank & Trust Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

FineMark National Bank & Trust lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,609 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.9% of FineMark National Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $26,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of UNH opened at $516.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $472.85 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $509.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $546.15.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. Stephens increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Twenty equities research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.