Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 234,500 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $116,007,000 after buying an additional 9,600 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 9,653 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,775,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,098 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,416,000 after purchasing an additional 3,048 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE UNH traded down $1.84 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $569.63. 999,928 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,946,993. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $608.63. The company has a market capitalization of $526.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $584.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $535.49.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group 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.