Vulcan Value Partners LLC Invests $57.40 Million in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Vulcan Value Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 113,489 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $57,397,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.0% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $0.43 on Wednesday, hitting $409.66. 4,390,441 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,772,497. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $499.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $532.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $401.00 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.