Piscataqua Savings Bank Sells 297 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Piscataqua Savings Bank reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,733 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 297 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 2.9% of Piscataqua Savings Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Piscataqua Savings Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $540,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,223,000. Wallace Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.1% in the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,444,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,038,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of UNH opened at $543.41 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $541.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $564.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. HSBC upgraded 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

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.