Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV Has $547,000 Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 935 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $10.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $615.81. 3,875,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,906,143. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $619.80. The firm has a market cap of $566.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $581.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $545.03.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

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.