UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Holdings Raised by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 145.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 680,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 403,729 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.1% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $212,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in 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 period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 339.1% in the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 101 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%

UNH opened at $319.40 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $622.83. The firm has a market cap of $289.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $344.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.94.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 46.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Baird R W downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised UnitedHealth Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.12.

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.