Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Acquires 628 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,498 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.9% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $24,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $557.77 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $581.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $542.90. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.06 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

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.