Bailard Inc. Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Bailard Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,473 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,402 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $23,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.8% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,641,177 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $859,518,000 after acquiring an additional 950,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,070,385 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,702,736,000 after purchasing an additional 847,054 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE UNH opened at $326.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $296.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $624.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $346.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $320.53.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The company had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $198.00 price target (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.