Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 264 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,470 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after buying an additional 318,039 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,012,218,000 after purchasing an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,148,134,000 after purchasing an additional 182,361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $493.35 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $451.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $513.78 and its 200-day moving average is $553.57.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.