UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 13.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 26,074 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $128,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 269,225 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $157,410,000 after acquiring an additional 8,993 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,429 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $5,513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 705 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 23.9% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE UNH traded up $10.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $500.13. 10,923,255 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,115,487. The company has a 50 day moving average of $572.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $559.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $460.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $626.84.

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.