UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,638 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 2.3% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,914,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5 %

UNH stock opened at $605.53 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $582.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $553.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $557.26 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.