Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,231 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 13,755 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.4% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,904,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after purchasing an additional 815,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,879,245,000 after buying an additional 623,631 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of UNH traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $503.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,922,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,362,104. The company has a market capitalization of $462.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $481.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $511.98.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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

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.