Trust Co. of Vermont Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Trust Co. of Vermont lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 32.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,637 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,108 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $345,000. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5,564.4% during the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 44,862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,491,000 after acquiring an additional 44,070 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Baxter Bros Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $309,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. UBS Group boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $325.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $606.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $336.15 and its 200 day moving average is $318.53. The stock 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 posted 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. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $7.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.