Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Has $24.85 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,498 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.9% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $24,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after purchasing an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after acquiring an additional 35,533 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $557.77 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $581.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $542.90. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $515.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 1.67 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

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.