Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Purchases New Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 383 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded up $4.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $573.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,761,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,955,627. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $584.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $534.68. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $608.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $529.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, topping 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 business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.