Empirical Finance LLC Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Empirical Finance LLC decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,818 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 405 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.9% of Empirical Finance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $526.68 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $484.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $529.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $564.30.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its 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. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.