MCF Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

MCF Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,558 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vicus Capital grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 278.5% during the 1st quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 1,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 71.8% during the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 54,720 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $27,906,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 74.6% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $564.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $583.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $537.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $521.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $608.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

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.