UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Reduced by Eagle Global Advisors LLC

Eagle Global Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,279 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.2% of Eagle Global Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Eagle Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $19,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $8.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $508.17. 2,414,748 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,169,007. The firm has a market capitalization of $467.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.55. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $488.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $511.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by 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.