Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $999.36 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,203,218 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 694,354 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of UnitedHealth Group worth $999,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $341.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $309.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $606.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $339.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The company had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.15 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.14%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.