The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 688,707 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,577,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 688,707 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.8% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $922,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,376,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.9% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 25,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,452,000 after purchasing an additional 7,308 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,920 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,314,000 after buying an additional 2,018 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lowered 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. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5 %

UNH opened at $605.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $557.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $582.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $553.99.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.