386 Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Purchased by Petra Financial Advisors Inc.

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 386 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% during the first quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 152,107 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $75,247,000 after purchasing an additional 45,173 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,126,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $2.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $565.50. 292,546 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,894,855. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $582.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $540.48. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $522.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.