UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 193,800 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.4% of Franklin Resources Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.88% of UnitedHealth Group worth $4,884,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $458,929,000 after buying an additional 776,516 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $4.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $520.48. The company had a trading volume of 7,775,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,985,398. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $478.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company's 50-day moving average is $583.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $559.30.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio 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.