UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Cardinal Capital Management Inc.

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 93.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,950 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 28,551 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Wealth Forward LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $667,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 972 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,495,000. Finally, Proathlete Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $881,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $598.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $552.25 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $583.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $531.08. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 55.70%.

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.