World Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 29,324 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 239.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,324 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $24,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $533.40 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $584.83 and its 200 day moving average is $559.60. The stock has a market cap of $490.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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 net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. 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 business posted $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 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.