UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 56.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $28,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. RMR Wealth Builders grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,034 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 3,786 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 2,758 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $520.11 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $478.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $555.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $561.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.