Hartline Investment Corp Trims Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hartline Investment Corp trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 720 shares during the period. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 88.0% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 258,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $151,374,000 after acquiring an additional 121,180 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, 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. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $533.17 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $529.18 and a 200 day moving average of $564.40. 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 stock has a market cap of $490.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

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.