UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Boosted by NS Partners Ltd

NS Partners Ltd raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,666 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 2.0% of NS Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $47,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $23.26 on Wednesday, reaching $600.26. 2,637,743 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,874,542. The stock has a market capitalization of $552.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $582.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $551.25. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNH. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.53.

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.