Riverwater Partners LLC Reduces Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Riverwater Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,380 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Stephens decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Four investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.9 %

UNH opened at $564.48 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $608.63. The company has a market cap of $521.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $584.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $536.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.