Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 329,532 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,928 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 2.1% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $192,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,758 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $615.16.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $566.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $522.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.53, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $608.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $584.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $533.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.68 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.70%.

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.