UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Cut by Scholtz & Company LLC

Scholtz & Company LLC lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,506 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 875 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 5.0% of Scholtz & Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Scholtz & Company LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 56,890 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5,098.1% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 21,676 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,674,000 after purchasing an additional 21,259 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after buying an additional 41,308 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised 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, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of UNH opened at $524.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $479.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $509.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $543.47. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently 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.