Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 691 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,416 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 691 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group reduced 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of UNH opened at $606.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $557.98 billion, a PE ratio of 39.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $583.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $554.65. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given 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 1.39%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.