Cornerstone Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,403 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.2% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $29,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-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 previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $600.50 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $582.52 and a 200 day moving average of $551.60. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $552.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.