Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 386 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 386 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after acquiring an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,094,247,000 after purchasing an additional 35,533 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of UNH traded up $2.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $565.50. The company had a trading volume of 292,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,894,855. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $522.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $582.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $540.48.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Argus lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

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.