Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Has $12.21 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,199 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.9% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 84,278 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,023 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.68.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’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 value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $17.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $496.48. The company had a trading volume of 6,149,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,485,922. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $489.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $515.38. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $457.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

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.