Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 2,333 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,726 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,333 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $72,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $434,501,000 after purchasing an additional 802,160 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

UNH opened at $575.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $577.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $520.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $529.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $607.94.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related 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 transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.