Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $461.15 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 911,622 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.8% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.10% of UnitedHealth Group worth $461,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after purchasing an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $427.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $390.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $417.12 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $508.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $537.99.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price objective (down previously from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $608.00.

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.

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