Veritas Asset Management LLP Has $1.03 Billion Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Veritas Asset Management LLP cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,759,015 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 31,345 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 7.6% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,028,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 44.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 265 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,599 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $19,095,000 after buying an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 16,528 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,176,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $3.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $567.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,548,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,259,068. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $581.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $542.00. The stock has a market cap of $524.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

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.