Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Sells 264 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,754 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after buying an additional 776,516 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $610.20 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $585.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $556.65. The firm has a market cap of $561.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.26.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.