Aviance Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,200 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,603,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,072,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. 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 note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $589.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $542.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $582.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $550.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

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.