Eagle Ridge Investment Management Reduces Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,611 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 598 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 3.0% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $34,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE UNH opened at $529.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $487.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $532.43 and a 200-day moving average of $564.77.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.