LGT Capital Partners LTD. Sells 60,974 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 43.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,036 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 60,974 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.6% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $46,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,591,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.0 %

UNH traded down $11.96 on Tuesday, hitting $577.69. 1,943,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,874,460. 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 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $582.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $550.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $531.64 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. 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 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $615.53.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.