UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Raised by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,999 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $50,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $549.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $587.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $558.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $505.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

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.