UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 185,677 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,226 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.8% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $93,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after purchasing an additional 776,516 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,661,000 after purchasing an additional 587,088 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $601,951,000 after buying an additional 581,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought 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. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $526.68 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $484.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $529.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $564.37. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month 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, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for 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. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens raised their price target 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 increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group 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.