Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,323 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,359 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $96,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,017 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $5,210,004,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,691,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,372,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540,538 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,679,401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,829 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $10.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $478.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,753,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,466,714. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $490.31 and a 200 day moving average of $515.63. The company has a market capitalization of $441.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. 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 31.54%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $571.20.

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.