UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 76,335 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,683 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.6% of Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $44,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 5.2 %

UNH opened at $596.69 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $608.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $581.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $543.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $551.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus upped their target price 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.