Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 569 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,961 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 569 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,635,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,289,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,192 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,268,753,000 after buying an additional 11,812,017 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 11,749,819 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,647,433,000 after buying an additional 399,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $5,210,004,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on UNH. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $573.80.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of UNH traded up $25.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $471.03. 9,684,918 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,372,831. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $434.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $491.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $515.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.37. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.