Cladis Investment Advisory LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cladis Investment Advisory LLC cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,201 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stephens reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $618.26.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $610.20 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $585.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $556.65. The stock has a market cap of $561.55 billion, a PE ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.