Bank & Trust Co Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bank & Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 18 shares during the quarter. Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $56,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.8% during the third quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 3,409 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 93,391 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $54,604,000 after buying an additional 10,454 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Advocate Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 8,094 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,732,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $5.36 on Thursday, reaching $596.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 755,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,924,323. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $582.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $529.56. 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 $550.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

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.