Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Raises Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,599 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $26,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised 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 valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.2 %

UNH opened at $592.23 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $582.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $549.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $545.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.