Berkshire Bank Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Berkshire Bank trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,705 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 21 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $543.41 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $541.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $564.79. The firm has a market cap of $500.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.