UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,522,241 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 392,596 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.3% of Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,805,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 23,983 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,106 shares during the last quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,829 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 119,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $60,375,000 after purchasing an additional 6,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inkwell Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $2,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens upped 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $515.47 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $508.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $543.92. The firm has a market cap of $471.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.26, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for 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%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.