Weiss Asset Management LP Acquires New Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,301 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,202,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. TimeScale Financial Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 276.9% in the third quarter. TimeScale Financial Inc. now owns 49 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 160.0% in the third quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 52 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Belmont Capital LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 294.1% in the third quarter. Belmont Capital LLC now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. O Dell Group LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 76.9% in the third quarter. O Dell Group LLC now owns 69 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.31% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $469.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $483.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $510.78. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $449.70 and a one year high of $558.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $437.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $5.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $82.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.53 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 27.04%. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.48 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.91 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 13th will be paid a $1.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 10th. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $587.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Raymond James lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $615.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $599.68.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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UnitedHealth Group, Inc engages in the provision of health care coverage, software, and data consultancy services. It operates through the following segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment utilizes Optum’s capabilities to help coordinate patient care, improve affordability of medical care, analyze cost trends, manage pharmacy benefits, work with care providers more effectively, and create a simpler consumer experience.