349 Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Acquired by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 349 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Insight Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $2,905,000. Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% in the first quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 152,107 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $75,247,000 after buying an additional 45,173 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,126,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $564.48 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $584.16 and a 200 day moving average of $536.49. The firm has a market cap of $521.25 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 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 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released 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 company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.