Weiss Asset Management LP Buys New Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 10,301 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,202,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 6,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,369,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 2,337 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Smith Salley & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 2,873 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.31% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $469.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $483.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $510.78. The stock has a market cap of $437.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $449.70 and a 1 year high of $558.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $5.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.17. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 27.04%. The business had revenue of $82.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.65 per share. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 31.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on UNH. Raymond James downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $615.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $587.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $599.68.

About UnitedHealth Group

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UnitedHealth Group, Inc engages in the provision of health care coverage, software, and data consultancy services. It operates through the following segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment utilizes Optum’s capabilities to help coordinate patient care, improve affordability of medical care, analyze cost trends, manage pharmacy benefits, work with care providers more effectively, and create a simpler consumer experience.