Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 225 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Lafayette Investments Inc. reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 24.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 700 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $560.82 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $584.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $536.49. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $608.63. The firm has a market cap of $517.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

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.