UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,294 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 393 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.0% of Bailard Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $38,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 863.6% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 106 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $474.95 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $516.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $557.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.