UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 380,381 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 84,167 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.3% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $222,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $4,522,000. L.M. Kohn & Company increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 5,037 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $601,951,000 after buying an additional 581,324 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 199,460 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $116,620,000 after acquiring an additional 95,503 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 210,464 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $123,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $618.26.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $610.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $561.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $585.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $556.08.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. 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.