LS Investment Advisors LLC Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,325 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after buying an additional 2,991,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $300.37 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $272.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $418.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $488.12. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.