Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,251 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 44.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 265 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 13,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,837,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,785 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,830,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% during the first quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 652 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $4.53 during trading on Thursday, hitting $567.49. 605,387 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,896,750. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $582.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $540.48. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued 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 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

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.