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

Quest Partners LLC decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 87.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 235 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,574 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $618.26.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock opened at $608.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $559.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $584.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $555.39. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its 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. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.