UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,833 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $590.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $582.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $552.95. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $543.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. 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.