Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 516,970 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 32,612 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.9% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of UnitedHealth Group worth $270,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,413,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $19,625,000 after acquiring an additional 12,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $427.09.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $4.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $305.59. 8,710,041 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,371,930. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $353.44 and its 200 day moving average is $460.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $277.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.