Proficio Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,455 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 855 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $615.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $581.93 and a 200 day moving average of $545.03. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $619.80. The stock has a market cap of $566.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 1.81 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.