UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,955 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 152,107 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $75,247,000 after acquiring an additional 45,173 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,126,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 target price (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $564.56 on Monday. 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 $521.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.78, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $583.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $538.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.