Janney Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Janney Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,987 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 44.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 265 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,599 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $19,095,000 after buying an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 16,528 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $567.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $524.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $581.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $542.00. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.