First Business Financial Services Inc. Purchases 127 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,370 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.1 %

UNH stock opened at $593.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $546.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $582.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $548.03.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 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 analysts’ expectations 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 was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

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.