Samalin Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 1,535 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 37.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,618 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,837,207,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,572,193,000. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,729,912,000 after purchasing an additional 4,730,192 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $528,273,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 33.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 6,191,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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 on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $386.00 to $391.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.75.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $338.47 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $606.36. The stock has a market cap of $306.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $330.76 and a 200-day moving average of $322.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

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.