James Investment Research Inc. Sells 561 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

James Investment Research Inc. cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,406 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 561 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.1% of James Investment Research Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 88.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 258,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $151,374,000 after acquiring an additional 121,180 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 212,295 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $123,025,000 after buying an additional 21,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $341,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $523.48 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $481.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $523.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $563.18.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 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 the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

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.