UMB Bank n.a. Increases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,391 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,454 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of UMB Bank n.a.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $54,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Advocate Group LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 8,094 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,445 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Cornerstone Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. HSBC increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $4.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $595.67. The stock had a trading volume of 520,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,923,127. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $607.94. The stock has a market cap of $550.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $582.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $529.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. 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 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

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.