UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Increased by Virtue Capital Management LLC

Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,637 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,001 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,925,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,790 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 596,573 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $348,804,000 after purchasing an additional 7,759 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,722 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $565.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $586.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $559.39. The company has a market cap of $520.31 billion, a PE ratio of 36.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend 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.