Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Sells 2,072 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 28.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,072 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $481.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $494.64 and a 200 day moving average of $505.02. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

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.