Prospect Financial Services LLC Makes New Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Prospect Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 753 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,537,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,839 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2,234.9% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,132,885 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $353,426,000 after buying an additional 1,084,366 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,641,177 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $859,518,000 after acquiring an additional 950,928 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of UNH stock opened at $332.53 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $622.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $347.53 and its 200 day moving average is $320.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $301.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 company earned $7.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.12.

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.