J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Purchases 3,163 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,406 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,914,740,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $955,388,000 after buying an additional 1,886,186 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $1.07 on Wednesday, reaching $428.25. 8,338,869 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,439,718. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $506.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $537.23. The stock has a market cap of $391.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $417.12 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price target (down from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Argus lowered 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $604.67.

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.