Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 1,461 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 313,427 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,461 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.2% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $183,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens decreased their price target 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $590.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $582.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $553.30. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $543.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.