Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Sells 1,418 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,619 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,418 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.6% of Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after purchasing an additional 776,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,661,000 after buying an additional 587,088 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $24.35 on Monday, hitting $545.04. 3,753,146 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,125,158. 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 moving average price of $555.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $562.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

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.