Banque Pictet & Cie SA Has $170.25 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA decreased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 325,054 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,988 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.4% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $170,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE UNH traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $303.40. 7,395,661 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,629,573. The firm has a market cap of $275.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $318.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNH. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.00.

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.