Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 811 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,206 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 811 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $11.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $617.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,202,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,893,824. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $617.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $581.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $543.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $567.92 billion, a PE ratio of 40.01, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

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.