UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lowered its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,725 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 261 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,337,000 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 the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the 1st 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. Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 339.1% in the first quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 101 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $64,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $327.68 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $345.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $324.09. The stock has a market cap of $296.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The business had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $333.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. KeyCorp increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.12.

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.