UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Decreased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,843 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,196 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $434,501,000 after purchasing an additional 802,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 130.9% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,318,475 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $671,447,000 after purchasing an additional 747,354 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE UNH opened at $575.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $577.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $520.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The firm has a market cap of $529.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group 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.