Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Sells 143 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,865 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.3% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $1.56 on Wednesday, reaching $540.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 319,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,532,496. The firm has a market cap of $497.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $539.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.28. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired 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 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.