Canal Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Canal Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,557 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.1% of Canal Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 22.0 %

NYSE UNH opened at $456.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $438.50 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $417.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $512.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $539.93.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.85.

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.