Haverford Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Haverford Financial Services Inc. cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,707 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,827 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 3.8% of Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 32 shares during 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 topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $3.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $568.00. 268,077 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,888,147. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $582.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $540.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.