UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,904 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $617.37.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $598.05 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $583.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $531.08. The firm has a market cap of $552.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a PEG ratio of 1.66 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 55.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.