West Coast Financial LLC Sells 1,021 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

West Coast Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 39.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,021 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,920,039,000 after buying an additional 21,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.1 %

NYSE UNH opened at $521.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $479.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $554.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $563.12. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.79.

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.