UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Bell Investment Advisors Inc

Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 485 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 28 shares during the quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd 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 stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew 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 purchasing an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.7 %

UNH stock traded up $10.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $617.14. The stock had a trading volume of 304,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,856,600. 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 firm has a market cap of $567.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.64, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $583.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $554.65. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

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, 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 company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted 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. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.26.

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.