LGT Capital Partners LTD. Sells 60,974 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 43.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,036 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 60,974 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.6% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $46,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $589.65 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. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $542.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $582.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $550.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.