UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s 9th Largest Position

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 488,887 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,140 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.5% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $285,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after purchasing an additional 776,516 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $618.26.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $608.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $559.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $584.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $555.02. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

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.