AlphaCore Capital LLC Increases Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 606 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second 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. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $597.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $582.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $551.92. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $549.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Stephens cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.