Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Has $3.87 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,640 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $569.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $526.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $584.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $536.30.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upped 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, UBS Group decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

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.