Beacon Financial Group Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Beacon Financial Group lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,856 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted 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. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $533.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $491.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $527.67 and a 200-day moving average of $564.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.