Calton & Associates Inc. Invests $1.55 Million in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,652 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,551,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $480,903,000. 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 valued at $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $570.06. 213,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,943,443. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $608.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $584.55 and its 200 day moving average is $535.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.58.

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.