LGT Capital Partners LTD. Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. trimmed its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 80,036 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 60,974 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.6% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $46,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $589.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $542.64 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $582.75 and a 200 day moving average of $550.66. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.