Conning Inc. Decreases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Conning Inc. cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 15.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 100,304 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 18,695 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.2% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $34,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 16.2% during the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 194 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Axis Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,631 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.5% during the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 244 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 336 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $333.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.75.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.2%

UNH stock opened at $334.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $329.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $321.87. The company has a market cap of $303.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $606.36.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.14%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.