UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,582 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.4% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after acquiring an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,635,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,289,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,192 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,017 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 11,749,819 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,647,433,000 after purchasing an additional 399,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,210,004,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Barclays boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $571.20.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $10.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $478.99. 8,753,188 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,714. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $490.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $515.63. The firm has a market cap of $441.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

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.