UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Ninety One SA PTY Ltd

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,822 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,042 shares during the quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 88.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 258,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $151,374,000 after purchasing an additional 121,180 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 188,110 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $109,984,000 after acquiring an additional 12,721 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.2% in the third quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $545.08 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $501.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $535.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.09.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced 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 net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.