Berkshire Hathaway Inc Takes $1.57 Billion Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Berkshire Hathaway bought 5,039,564 shares of UnitedHealth (~$1.57 billion), equal to roughly a 0.56% stake and making UNH its 18th-largest holding.
• Other large institutions also added or initiated big positions — notably Wellington Management, Dodge & Cox, and a new ~ $3.84 billion stake from Norges Bank — leaving institutional ownership at about 87.86%.
• UnitedHealth slightly beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.92 vs. $2.87), announced a $2.21 quarterly dividend ($8.84 annualized, ~2.6% yield), and has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $385.54 price target.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,039,564 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,572,193,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.6% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Berkshire Hathaway Inc owned approximately 0.56% of UnitedHealth Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after purchasing an additional 675,075 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,837,207,000. Dodge & Cox increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% during the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,729,912,000 after acquiring an additional 4,730,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,502,469 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,340,346,000 after purchasing an additional 432,084 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of UNH stock opened at $341.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $606.36. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $339.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $316.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The business had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 46.14%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.

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