Renasant Bank Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Renasant Bank lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,549 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 326 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.8% of Renasant Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Renasant Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after acquiring an additional 318,039 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,012,218,000 after buying an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,148,134,000 after purchasing an additional 182,361 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, 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 link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock opened at $480.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $511.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $551.01. The company has a market capitalization of $439.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stephens increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.