JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. Sells 882 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 39.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,380 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 882 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.6% of JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6 %

UNH stock opened at $542.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $499.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $536.17 and its 200 day moving average is $565.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.