UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Position Lifted by Lewis Asset Management LLC

Lewis Asset Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 99.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,105 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Unisphere Establishment raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 450,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $235,688,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,286 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,911,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $62,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.0%

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $332.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $300.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $606.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $332.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $319.37. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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