Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Has $2.15 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 105 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $336.34 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $330.58 and its 200-day moving average is $319.72. The firm has a market cap of $304.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $606.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.