Sheets Smith Wealth Management Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,394 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 452 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,376,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 15.6% in the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 26,644 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,181,000 after buying an additional 3,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.0% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 8,114 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $615.81 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $581.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $545.03. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $619.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $566.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Argus increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

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.