Swedbank AB Has $1.07 Billion Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Swedbank AB decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,114,602 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 144,280 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Swedbank AB’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,069,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $3.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $539.07. The stock had a trading volume of 213,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,529,570. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $496.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $539.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.28. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

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.