UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Eagle Strategies LLC

Eagle Strategies LLC cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 508 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after acquiring an additional 94,641 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after acquiring an additional 35,533 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $563.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $608.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $582.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $540.48. The company has a market cap of $520.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio 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.