UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,913 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,963 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 450,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $235,688,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Rench Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,286 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,911,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $62,850,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $332.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $606.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $332.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 46.14%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.