Certified Advisory Corp Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Certified Advisory Corp lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,673 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Certified Advisory Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,920,039,000 after purchasing an additional 21,149 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $511.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $553.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $562.98. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $470.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group 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.