Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $6.12 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Empire Life Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,095 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,430 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $51,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $55,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $523.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $481.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $523.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $563.48. 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.