Provident Trust Co. Sells 6,472 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Provident Trust Co. decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 626,145 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,472 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 5.5% of Provident Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $316,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on UNH. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $523.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $481.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. 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 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 $523.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.00.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.