Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,910 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 25,920 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $25,000. Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 339.1% during the first quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 101 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $329.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $298.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $343.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $622.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

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.