Two Sigma Securities LLC Has $1.46 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Two Sigma Securities LLC lowered its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 87.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,890 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 20,531 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in 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 grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after purchasing an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price objective (down previously from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $9.19 on Tuesday, hitting $410.81. 4,723,689 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,492,735. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $373.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $501.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $532.94. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $409.74 and a 12-month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.