UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 742,935 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,515 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.8% of Natixis Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $434,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $592.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $545.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $582.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $549.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a 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 Company 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.