American Trust Sells 744 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

American Trust lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,730 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 744 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 0.7% of American Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. American Trust’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,475,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Collective Family Office LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% during the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $583.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $580.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $525.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $538.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.