UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Holdings Cut by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,094 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 805 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $24,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $576.93 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $582.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $551.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $530.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.