Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 389,210 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 51.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,183 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 389,210 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $217,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $560.82 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $608.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $584.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $536.49. The stock has a market cap of $517.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58.

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 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 prior year, the business posted $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.