UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Steph & Co.

Steph & Co. lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,459 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $480,903,000. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after buying an additional 776,516 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,661,000 after acquiring an additional 587,088 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $601,951,000 after acquiring an additional 581,324 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE UNH opened at $543.21 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $554.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $563.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on UNH shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

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.