New England Research & Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

New England Research & Management Inc. lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 83.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,325 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,795 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 339.1% in the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 101 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $341.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $339.49 and a 200 day moving average of $317.51. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $606.36. The firm has a market cap of $309.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.14%.

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.