Estabrook Capital Management Has $9.02 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Estabrook Capital Management decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,706 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 157 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.4% of Estabrook Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. HSBC raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $575.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $529.22 billion, a P/E 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $577.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $520.80. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was 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 $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.