Optimum Investment Advisors Lowers Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Optimum Investment Advisors trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,789 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 320 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.7% of Optimum Investment Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $517.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $473.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $510.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.