UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Reduced by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 212 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Souders Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 11,521 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,736,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 14,023 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,199,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $137,892,000 after purchasing an additional 4,929 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 776,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 62,292 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,421,000 after buying an additional 9,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Argus lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $615.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $565.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $582.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $547.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.