Value Partners Investments Inc. Has $5.83 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 156.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,117 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 6,785 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.5% of Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Raymond James Financial cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $6.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $308.85. 13,584,804 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,465,895. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $339.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $456.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.