Milestone Asset Management LLC Acquires New Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,860 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after acquiring an additional 675,075 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,837,207,000. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% during the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,729,912,000 after buying an additional 4,730,192 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,502,469 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,340,346,000 after acquiring an additional 432,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 6,191,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,904,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $327.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $296.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $334.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $606.36.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $423.00 to $417.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $385.54.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.