US Bancorp DE Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

US Bancorp DE reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,119,326 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,171 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.8% of US Bancorp DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.12% of UnitedHealth Group worth $654,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,877 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,851,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 11,424 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,680,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,464 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,610,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $565,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3 %

UNH stock traded up $1.79 on Thursday, hitting $564.75. 356,717 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,895,572. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $608.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $582.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $521.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.