UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,194 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.3% of MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,094,247,000 after purchasing an additional 35,533 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,920,039,000 after purchasing an additional 21,149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $571.46 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $584.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $535.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $608.63. The firm has a market cap of $527.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.23, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.58.

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.