Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Raises Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,087 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $564.48 on Thursday. 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 $521.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $608.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $584.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $536.49.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share 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 business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.