D.A. Davidson & CO. Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,791 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,697 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $21,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% in the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $57,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $523.48 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $523.11 and its 200-day moving average is $563.00.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.