Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $234,000 in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $596.69 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $608.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $551.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $581.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $543.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

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.