UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Increased by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $2,905,000. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% during the first quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 152,107 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $75,247,000 after acquiring an additional 45,173 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $35,126,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $14,544,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNH. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price target (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded down $1.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $569.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,593,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,955,110. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $584.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $536.30.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

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.