UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by Wallington Asset Management LLC

Wallington Asset Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 36,033 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 2.9% of Wallington Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $21,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $564.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $521.25 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $584.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $536.49.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 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.