Clarus Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Clarus Group Inc. decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,365 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.6% of Clarus Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of UNH traded up $7.41 on Monday, hitting $577.02. 1,247,983 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,953,097. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $584.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $534.68. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $608.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

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.