Waverton Investment Management Ltd Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 438,977 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,789 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 3.5% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $222,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Paragon Capital Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $465.58 on Monday. 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 market cap of $428.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $519.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $560.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.