UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,987 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $52,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stewardship Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $301,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.5% during the third quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 141,265 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $82,354,000 after purchasing an additional 6,026 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.1% in the third quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 13,379 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,823,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Genesee Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $571.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $584.55 and a 200-day moving average of $535.49. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $527.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.