UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Raised by Violich Capital Management Inc.

Violich Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 2.8% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $21,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth about $282,469,000. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,905,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $569.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $584.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $534.68. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $608.63. The company has a market cap of $525.99 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.