Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Sells 2,170 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division reduced its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,024 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,170 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after buying an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after acquiring an additional 35,533 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,920,039,000 after acquiring an additional 21,149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $592.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $607.94. The company has a market cap of $546.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $581.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $526.18.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.