Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Acquires New Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.8 %

UNH opened at $616.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $581.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $545.03. The firm has a market cap of $567.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $619.80.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

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.