UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Foundry Partners LLC

Foundry Partners LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 485 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.1 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $590.77 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $582.63 and its 200-day moving average is $552.59. The company has a market cap of $543.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

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.