Scott & Selber Inc. Sells 39 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Scott & Selber Inc. lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,290 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.5% of Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America cut their price objective 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. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE UNH opened at $615.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $566.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $619.80. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $581.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $545.03.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.