Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,736 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,372 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.6% of Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH traded down $3.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $308.35. 37,577,107 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,117,656. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $283.19 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $482.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $519.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $523.52.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.