Vista Capital Partners Inc. Sells 21 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Vista Capital Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 618 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 21 shares during the quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $605.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $608.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $581.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $543.74. The company has a market cap of $557.18 billion, a PE ratio of 39.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.