Focus Partners Wealth Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Focus Partners Wealth reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 41.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 263,804 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 189,354 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $134,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of UNH stock traded down $2.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $378.42. 10,983,126 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,741,244. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $488.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $522.04. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.20 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $343.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 35.18%.

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.