Logan Capital Management Inc. Sells 978 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Logan Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 978 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $44,742,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 9,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,322,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 124.2% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 287 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 70,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $3.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $511.82. 1,588,659 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,958,487. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $583.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $559.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $471.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.