DnB Asset Management AS Has $136.97 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 270,758 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,391 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.6% of DnB Asset Management AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $136,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $515.89 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $508.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $545.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $471.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective 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. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.