Zacks Investment Management Purchases 136,525 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 124.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,068 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,525 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.2% of Zacks Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $143,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,165,000. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,905,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,554,000. Finally, Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $549.49 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $505.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $587.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $558.34.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.