UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 49.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.4% of Jennison Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.39% of UnitedHealth Group worth $1,904,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded down $4.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $496.76. 1,674,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,513,842. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $488.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $515.20. The stock has a market cap of $457.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

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.