Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $110.45 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 188,903 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,629 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 2.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $110,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH traded down $3.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $602.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,877,487. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $554.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $582.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $548.03.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced 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 business had revenue of $100.82 billion during 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 was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given 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 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.