Carlson Capital Management Sells 378 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Carlson Capital Management lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,939 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 378 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.7% of Carlson Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Carlson Capital Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $6.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $599.65. The company had a trading volume of 461,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,862,388. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $582.96 and a 200 day moving average of $553.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $551.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a PEG ratio of 1.73 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.