SlateStone Wealth LLC Trims Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

SlateStone Wealth LLC cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,228 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 519 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 339.1% during the first quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 101 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Leerink Partners set a $410.00 target price on UnitedHealth Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.3%

UNH stock opened at $318.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $288.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $622.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.39.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.15 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.14%.

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.