KCM Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $594.42. 671,266 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,876,317. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $582.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $548.34. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $547.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 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 given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. 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.