Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Grows Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 19.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.9% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $21,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price target (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $6.47 during trading on Thursday, reaching $599.40. 570,708 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,879,223. The stock has a market capitalization of $551.62 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $582.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $548.03. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.