CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,079,995 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 17,850 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.12% of UnitedHealth Group worth $546,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $632.85.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 22.0 %

Shares of UNH traded down $128.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $456.10. 29,048,929 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,373,443. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50-day moving average price is $512.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $540.65. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $438.50 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.