Savant Capital LLC Lowers Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Savant Capital LLC lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,052 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,208 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after buying an additional 544,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after purchasing an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,802,231,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.2 %

UNH stock opened at $596.88 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $558.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.11. The stock has a market cap of $549.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $607.94.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. HSBC boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.