Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $1.33 Billion Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,619,549 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 12,322 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of UnitedHealth Group worth $1,325,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. State Street Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,197,167 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,869,320,000 after purchasing an additional 107,097 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $6.14 on Monday, reaching $533.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,039,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,306,968. The stock has a market cap of $490.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $529.18 and a 200-day moving average of $564.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.