UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,784 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $522.34 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $554.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $563.12. The firm has a market cap of $480.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.