LS Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 33.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,660 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 825 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE UNH opened at $605.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $581.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $543.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $608.63. The company has a market capitalization of $557.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price objective (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

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.