Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 356 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,340 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,519,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. First Long Island Investors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 106,373 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,194,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,372 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,911,000 after buying an additional 6,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,974,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 stock. 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 Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $592.23 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $582.84 and a 200 day moving average of $549.52. The company has a market capitalization of $545.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released 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. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.