UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s 7th Largest Position

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,685,447 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,481 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.6% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $858,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $434,501,000 after buying an additional 802,160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $575.00 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $577.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $520.47. The firm has a market cap of $529.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.