Howland Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Howland Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,205 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 74 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $581.44.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $508.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $467.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $499.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $500.05.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.34%.

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.