Lansing Street Advisors Raises Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Lansing Street Advisors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 739 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $567.56 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $608.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $581.96 and a 200 day moving average of $542.45. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reduced 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. Stephens dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently 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.