Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 12,603,771 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,603,771 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.8% of Norges Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.37% of UnitedHealth Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LM Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 4,953 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,506,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,429,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,640,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 48,357 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $24,462,000 after acquiring an additional 9,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BIT Capital GmbH bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $943,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $515.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,378,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,268,981. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $508.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $544.24. The stock has a market cap of $471.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on UNH. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $629.32.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.