Foster Group Inc. Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Foster Group Inc. decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,161 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Capital Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,324,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,433 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,242,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 2,486 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $542.52 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $499.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $540.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $565.06.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on UNH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.