CCM Investment Advisers LLC Cuts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,058 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 2.0% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bornite Capital Management LP bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $15,794,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 476,586 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $250,909,000 after purchasing an additional 197,834 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 149,535 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $78,726,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,316,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $617.37.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $597.68 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $583.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $530.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $551.91 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.70%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.