Trillium Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Trillium Asset Management LLC lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,112 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 502 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $20,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.9 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $503.61 on Wednesday. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $460.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $510.90 and its 200 day moving average is $548.54.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNH shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.