Delta Financial Advisors LLC Sells 791 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,030 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 791 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after acquiring an additional 527,526 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,635,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,289,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,192 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,017 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 11,749,819 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,647,433,000 after acquiring an additional 399,739 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $5,210,004,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $14.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $493.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,232,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,461,761. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $489.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $515.38. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $454.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $569.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.