Maple Capital Management Inc. Has $38.98 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,666 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,839 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 3.0% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $38,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $2,905,000. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% in the first quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 152,107 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $75,247,000 after purchasing an additional 45,173 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,126,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $14,544,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on UNH. UBS Group reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

UNH stock opened at $571.46 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $584.55 and its 200-day moving average is $535.49. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $608.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $527.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.