Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 208 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 58,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.5% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $34,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 484 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

UNH stock traded down $2.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $612.05. The stock had a trading volume of 333,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,880,817. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $582.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $547.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $563.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.