Destination Wealth Management Invests $295,000 in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Destination Wealth Management acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 504 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after acquiring an additional 776,516 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 3.3 %

NYSE UNH opened at $515.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $474.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $583.29 and its 200 day moving average is $559.30.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.84.

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.