UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Cooper Financial Group

Cooper Financial Group reduced its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,243 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 8,556 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 639 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,726 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $6,818,000. Finally, Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,870 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $23.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $544.66. 4,051,743 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,160,355. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $555.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $501.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62.

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 firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

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.