Americana Partners LLC Buys 1,984 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE UNH traded up $3.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $567.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 724,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,890,678. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $582.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $540.65. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $524.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

About UnitedHealth Group

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.