BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 84,167 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 380,381 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 84,167 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.3% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $222,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.26.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $610.53 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $561.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $585.43 and a 200 day moving average of $556.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 company 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 posted $6.56 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

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.