Howe & Rusling Inc. Lowers Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Howe & Rusling Inc. cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,401 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.5% of Howe & Rusling Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Hilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 16,005 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $9,358,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. NS Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 81,666 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 3,716 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 269.2% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 9,755 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,703,000 after buying an additional 7,113 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 87,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $50,995,000 after acquiring an additional 30,340 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $576.93 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $530.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $582.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $551.25.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given 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 1.46%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

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.