Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 1,132 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,998 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,132 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $10.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $615.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,875,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,660,167. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $581.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $545.03. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $619.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $566.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.