Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC Trims Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,750 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.7% of Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Concord Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at $14,544,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,072,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $564.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $521.18 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $608.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $582.30 and a 200 day moving average of $540.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

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.