Ascent Group LLC Cuts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,996 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.9% of Ascent Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $581.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $537.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $579.40 and a 200-day moving average of $524.13. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.