Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $564.85 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 53.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,078,472 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 375,750 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.12% of UnitedHealth Group worth $564,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.4%

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $7.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $318.14. 15,897,138 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,150,543. The company's fifty day moving average price is $391.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.22. The company has a market cap of $288.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. 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 the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company 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 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective 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. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.