Waterway Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Waterway Wealth Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 571 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Waterway Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $2,905,000. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% during the first quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 152,107 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $75,247,000 after buying an additional 45,173 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,126,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at $14,544,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Argus increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $571.46 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $584.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $535.49. The company has a market capitalization 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.