Empire Life Investments Inc. Sells 253 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 253 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second 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. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third 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. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $567.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $581.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $542.00. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63. The company has a market capitalization of $524.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. 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.