Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 4,912 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wright Investors Service Inc. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 40.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,201 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,912 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $541.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $498.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $554.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $562.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73.

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. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. 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.