Hilton Capital Management LLC Grows Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,005 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen raised 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. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $576.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $530.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $582.31 and a 200-day moving average of $551.25.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.