Bank of Stockton Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bank of Stockton lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,714 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on UNH. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on 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 lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.7 %

UNH opened at $564.56 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $583.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $537.42. 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 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $608.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $521.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.