Financial Perspectives Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Financial Perspectives Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 20.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,081 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.8% of Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 74 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $489.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $450.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.60. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $498.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $500.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

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.