Emprise Bank Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Emprise Bank cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,680 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.2% of Emprise Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Emprise Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $4,969,000. Ashburton Jersey Ltd purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $139,000. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 76.9% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,343 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $592.30 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $581.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $526.18. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $607.94. The company has a market capitalization of $546.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 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.