Meritage Group LP Buys Shares of 30,000 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 30,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $17,540,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.4% of Meritage Group LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. TD Cowen raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $549.62 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $505.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $586.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $559.07.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders 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 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.