UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Simplify Asset Management Inc.

Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 49.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,372 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 6,772 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.6% of Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of UNH stock traded down $0.99 on Friday, hitting $592.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 783,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,876,646. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $582.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $548.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $544.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $100.82 billion during 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%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.