Ascent Group LLC Has $12.72 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ascent Group LLC cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,746 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.0% of Ascent Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 210,464 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $123,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $610.20 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $585.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $556.65. The company has a market cap of $561.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its 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. 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 analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $618.26.

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.