James Investment Research Inc. Sells 561 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

James Investment Research Inc. reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,406 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 561 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.1% of James Investment Research Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,140 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 9,263 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,686,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 594 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 73,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,959,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 26,354 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.4 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $523.48 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month 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 company has a market capitalization of $481.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $523.11 and its 200 day moving average is $563.18.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, December 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 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, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.