Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,728 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,505 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 85,197 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $756,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 1,357 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 18.5% during the third quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. now owns 2,039 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78.7% during the third quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 5,649 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.0%

UNH stock opened at $334.37 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $606.36. The company has a market cap of $302.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $338.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $385.54.

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.