366 Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Acquired by New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust

New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 366 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.4% of New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $615.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $566.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $619.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $581.93 and a 200-day moving average of $545.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

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.