Pinebridge Investments L.P. Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,318 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 69,757 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James reissued 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. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $604.67.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $428.25 on Thursday. 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 $417.12 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $506.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $537.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.