Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 575,020 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 15,728 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.06% of UnitedHealth Group worth $301,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st 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 raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the 4th 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 raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $367,521,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.52.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on UNH
UnitedHealth Group Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $237.40 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $296.86 and its 200 day moving average is $416.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $215.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.
UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.
UnitedHealth Group Profile
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Free Report)
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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