Sapient Capital LLC Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Sapient Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 49.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,668 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,654 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after purchasing an additional 675,075 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,837,207,000. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,729,912,000 after acquiring an additional 4,730,192 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,502,469 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,340,346,000 after purchasing an additional 432,084 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 6,191,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,904,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565,245 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $331.76 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $606.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $333.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $333.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective for the company. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.