Spinnaker Trust Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Spinnaker Trust cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,146 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 518 shares during the quarter. Spinnaker Trust’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,937 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Concord Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth $14,544,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $4,602,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $596.69 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $551.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $581.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $543.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.