UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Belmont Capital LLC

Belmont Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 881 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.8% of Belmont Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Belmont Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 22,294 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,035,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 153,486 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $89,731,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 8,907 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,208,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.5% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,424 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $589.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $542.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $582.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $550.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

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.