Hamilton Capital LLC Purchases 29 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hamilton Capital LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 572 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Hamilton Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $21,165,000. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $2,905,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,554,000. Finally, Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $549.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $505.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.81, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $586.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $559.07.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

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.