Focused Investors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Focused Investors LLC reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 7,600 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 7.3% of Focused Investors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Focused Investors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $239,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $675.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of UNH traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $592.23. 3,423,919 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,119,612. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $582.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $549.52. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $545.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.