JLB & Associates Inc. Sells 653 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

JLB & Associates Inc. decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,286 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 653 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 2.8% of JLB & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $21,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Capital Insight Partners LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Collective Family Office LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $592.30 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $581.15 and a 200 day moving average of $526.18. The stock has a market cap of $546.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

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.