UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Cetera Advisor Networks LLC

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 129,270 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 520 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $62,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 97,436.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,029,274,230 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $494,710,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,218,963 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 74,928,539 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,410,478,000 after acquiring an additional 509,633 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,079,140 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,379,561,000 after acquiring an additional 140,312 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,101,395 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,063,262,000 after acquiring an additional 242,959 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,635,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,289,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,192 shares during the period. 85.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $535.11 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $445.68 and a 1 year high of $553.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $516.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $497.54. The company has a market capitalization of $494.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.33 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $92.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.94 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 1st. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.64%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 4,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.28, for a total transaction of $2,448,171.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,017,173.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 121,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.58, for a total transaction of $65,688,578.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 521,818 shares in the company, valued at $282,084,374.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 4,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.28, for a total transaction of $2,448,171.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,017,173.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 21st. UBS Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $520.00 to $640.00 in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $572.00 to $596.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.30.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.