Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $96.51 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 183,323 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 9,359 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $96,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,268,753,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,017 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $5,210,004,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,679,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction 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 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. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:UNH traded up $10.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $478.99. 8,753,188 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,714. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $490.31 and a 200 day moving average of $515.63. The stock has a market cap of $441.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 31.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $571.20.

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.