PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 329,609 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 27.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 872,370 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 329,609 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of UnitedHealth Group worth $272,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Caitlin John LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the first quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% in the second quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $1,324,000. Wealth Effects LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Towercrest Capital Management acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $236,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $326.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $346.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $320.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $624.48.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The company had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.15 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.12.

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.