SlateStone Wealth LLC Sells 519 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

SlateStone Wealth LLC cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,228 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 519 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitlin John LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,324,000. Wealth Effects LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, Towercrest Capital Management bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $236,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $318.89 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $622.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.39. The firm has a market cap of $288.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Leerink Partners set a $410.00 target price on UnitedHealth Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $198.00 target price (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.12.

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.