Bailard Inc. Sells 1,186 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bailard Inc. reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,186 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.2% of Bailard Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $44,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $29.66 on Wednesday, reaching $596.69. 6,547,059 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,899,993. The firm has a market capitalization of $551.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $608.63. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $581.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $543.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. 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. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group dropped 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.