Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 1,420 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,424 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.6% of Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $592.23 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $582.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $549.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $545.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

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.