UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,467 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the third 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 during the period. 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 valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $510.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $469.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $549.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $563.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.