Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,156 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,342 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,696,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,899,379 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $904,519,000 after buying an additional 646,373 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $7,353,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 261.1% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 16,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,109,000 after acquiring an additional 11,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 139,416 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $43,497,000 after acquiring an additional 39,548 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.9%

UNH opened at $323.36 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $622.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $343.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.29. The firm has a market cap of $292.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Leerink Partners set a $410.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.12.

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.