AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $325.61 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 28.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 556,896 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 124,068 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.6% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.06% of UnitedHealth Group worth $325,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $564.75. The stock had a trading volume of 356,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,895,572. The company’s 50-day moving average is $582.60 and its 200 day moving average is $540.48. The company has a market capitalization of $521.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $608.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.