Verity & Verity LLC Purchases 154 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,499 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $589.65 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $542.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $582.75 and its 200 day moving average is $550.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 target price (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

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.