Advisor Resource Council Makes New Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 12,844 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,354,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 857,397 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $424,154,000 after buying an additional 40,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 977,239 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $483,440,000 after acquiring an additional 72,068 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Argus upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $605.45 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $581.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $543.74. 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 company has a market capitalization of $559.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $608.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.