Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Has $888,000 Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 52.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,755 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,953 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $543.41 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $541.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $564.79. The company has a market cap of $500.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

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.