ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Sells 524 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 524 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $439.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $304.27 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $426.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $490.74. 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 firm has a market cap of $276.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.