Meridian Wealth Management LLC Has $18.22 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,162 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,603 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.9% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $18,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,914,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $597.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $549.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $582.70 and a 200-day moving average of $551.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.