HCR Wealth Advisors Sells 79 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

HCR Wealth Advisors reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,186 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.1 %

UNH stock opened at $543.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $554.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.12. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.79.

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.