WP Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

WP Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,628 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.0% of WP Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,376,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 314.3% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,073 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 58.5% during the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 2,541 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 104.4% during the first quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 4,970 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $592.23 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $582.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $549.98. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $545.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released 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 company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.