Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $6,872,000. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.9% of Mufg Securities Americas Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Persium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $499,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,743 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 4,193 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Marion Wealth Management grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 5,261 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $540.00 price objective (down previously from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 17.8%

UNH stock opened at $311.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $282.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. 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 12 month low of $309.10 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $482.53 and its 200 day moving average is $519.28.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

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.

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