Oxbow Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 587 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $10.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $615.81. The company had a trading volume of 3,875,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,906,143. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $581.93 and its 200-day moving average is $545.03. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $619.80. The company has a market capitalization of $566.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.