Seilern Investment Management Ltd Takes $153.02 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Seilern Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 302,484 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $153,015,000. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 8.7% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,166 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 12,222 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,182,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,550 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $27,595,000 after acquiring an additional 12,595 shares in the last quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $292,000. Finally, Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $978,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE UNH opened at $510.03 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $549.37 and a 200-day moving average of $563.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.