Saxon Interests Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,301 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 148 shares during the quarter. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after buying an additional 544,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,094,247,000 after buying an additional 35,533 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,920,039,000 after acquiring an additional 21,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $3.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $585.53. 407,857 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,931,344. The firm has a market cap of $540.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $582.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $529.13. 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 results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.