UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Leisure Capital Management

Leisure Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 74.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,188 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $542.30 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $536.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.20. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.