Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 3,723 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,723 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $16,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 678.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTHR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,696.56. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total transaction of $3,566,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $919,164.36. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,755 shares of company stock worth $29,792,021 in the last quarter. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $306.97 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $340.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $355.69. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.