Flputnam Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 52.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,374 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,059 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth $25,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 339.1% during the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 101 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $325.56 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $606.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $318.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.14%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.