Acorn Creek Capital LLC Sells 72 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Acorn Creek Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 544 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 7,433 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 1,804 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Bay Rivers Group boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Rivers Group now owns 6,610 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was 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 the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $543.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $541.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $564.79. The firm has a market cap of $500.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

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.