UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Lessened by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,721,379 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,891 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.30% of UnitedHealth Group worth $1,346,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of UNH stock traded down $2.85 on Wednesday, hitting $495.39. The stock had a trading volume of 224,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,261,316. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $455.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $498.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.35.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.74.

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.