UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by D Orazio & Associates Inc.

D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,347 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 4.3% of D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $30,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $4,094,247,000 after purchasing an additional 35,533 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $6.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $608.25. 731,171 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,882,624. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $582.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $547.62. 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 has a market capitalization of $559.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS 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 1.38%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.