Meritage Portfolio Management Reduces Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 23.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,232 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,527 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Argus increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $10.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $615.81. 3,875,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,660,167. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $619.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $566.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $581.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $545.03.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share 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 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 company earned $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.