S&CO Inc. Cuts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

S&CO Inc. lessened its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,037 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,195 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.1% of S&CO Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,076,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 314.3% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,073 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.0% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,923 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,446,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective 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. Stephens dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $592.23 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $582.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $549.52. The stock has a market cap of $545.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.