Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Acquires 4,953 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,953 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% during the second quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 123 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53.8% in the second quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and set a $198.00 target price (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $324.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $293.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $345.84 and a 200-day moving average of $321.90.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 46.14%.

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.