JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 607,582 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 32,695 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.8% of JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd owned 0.07% of UnitedHealth Group worth $304,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $55.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $323.62. The company had a trading volume of 17,562,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,191,788. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $322.60 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $486.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $520.74. The firm has a market cap of $293.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during 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. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 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.