Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Buys 581,324 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 129.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 581,324 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.2% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $601,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $610.53 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $561.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $585.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $556.08.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Stephens cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 target price (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $618.26.

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.