Cerity Partners LLC Buys 62,493 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 507,077 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 62,493 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.7% of Cerity Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $296,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $590.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $543.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $582.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $552.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 target price (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

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.