Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV Reduces Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 312 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 2.2% of Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after purchasing an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 94,641 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after purchasing an additional 35,533 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second 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. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,920,039,000 after acquiring an additional 21,149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $591.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,463,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,965,528. The stock has a market cap of $544.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $607.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $582.24 and its 200-day moving average is $527.36.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Barclays raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

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.