UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Sold by Investment Partners LTD.

Investment Partners LTD. trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,486 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitlin John LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% during the second quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,324,000. Wealth Effects LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Towercrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $236,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $333.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $302.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.82. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $622.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $320.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The business had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.15 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 46.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on UNH. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and set a $198.00 price target (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.12.

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.