NorthRock Partners LLC Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

NorthRock Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 20.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,719 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,486 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $558.02. 131,489 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,875,866. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $515.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $608.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $581.37 and its 200-day moving average is $542.90.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. 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 1.51%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.