UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Lifted by Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,087 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.9% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $564.48 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $584.16 and its 200-day moving average is $536.49. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The company has a market cap of $521.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.